TLDR, less nuanced:
Several meta-analyses and systematic reviews converge on the same message. An analysis done in 72 countries shows no consistent or measurable associations between well-being and the roll-out of social media globally. Moreover, findings from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development study, the largest long-term study of adolescent brain development in the United States, has found no evidence of drastic changes associated with digital-technology use. Haidt, a social psychologist at New York University, is a gifted storyteller, but his tale is currently one searching for evidence.
Betteridge’s law of headlines still applies: When the headline is a question, the answer is no.
I can’t make sense of bringing this in for this piece.
The headline of this piece is not really a question. Sure, there is a question in it. But it answers the question in the headline. . . .and that answer isn’t “no.” It’s “it’s not clear what the cause is.”
Blaming teenage mental illness on social media feels to me like the boomers are trying to find a different scapegoat than all the factors caused by their own stupidity, greed and destruction of human habitat.
So. . .where’s your evidence? Or are you, just like Haidt, currently seeking evidence for your tale?
My guy, you are asking me to provide evidence for the claim that something feels to me a certain way. You do realize how silly that is?
You answered my question: it’s a tale seeking evidence.
As is almost entry comment on Lemmy. What’s your point?
That’s you’re exactly like the boomers you are attacking.
So where’s your evidence?
So does shortened attention spans not count as any type of brain development change or is that not actually happening/outside of this study?
Even though everybody seems convinced our attention spans have decreased, there is no conclusive evidence of it and scientists don’t even really think it is useful to talk about attention outside the context of motivation anyways.
Your attention span is fine, you are just too burned out from modern life to invest energy into things that take a lot of sustained focus that aren’t essential to survival.
You also have to be way more picky with what content you choose to engage with because there is sooooooo much more content now and that may look like a “short attention span” when your brain optimizes for tossing out the 95% off fluff to get right to the thing you actually wanted.
Our attention spans are fine, this has been the most boring moral panic ever but that is really all it is.
Shortened attention span falls under mental well-being.
The older generation has always criticized the younger generation for the same things. And yet again it is done without merit.
This isn’t a study, it’s a book review refuting the author’s assertion. But it looks like the scope was only mental health, not cognitive skill.
Odd when we are also reading how studies are showing increased levels of depression and suicide. Which lie do we believe? I’ll just go with what I see happening with my own eyes and experience then.
This piece isn’t saying there is no increase in depression and suicide. In fact, the whole premise of the article is that by blaming screen time we might be missing the actual cause of the issue (increase in depression and anxiety) and thus doing our children a disservice.
I would suggest that before trying to decide who to believe, you actually listen to their argument and evidence first. Instead of just thinking that your own perception of the world is perfectly objective and not anecdotal.
Not going out and interacting as freely with people paying direct attention to one another leads to heightened mental issues? Shocking.
I grew up in the 80’s and we were super fucking social. Anyone that didnt live it cannot grasp how far we have fallen from what we once had, and we had no idea how good we had it.
Not to mention everything is being recorded to haunt every kid there is.
I feel read bad for modern day kids, my daughter included. An important aspect of humanity has been lost.
Yeah, everyone in this thread saying the phone bad is a Boomer cop out is oversimplifying the issue.
Yeah, there’s probably a component of taking the blame away from decreased quality of life by blaming it on phones—but you can’t neglect the effect that lack of social interaction has. I’m from the same era, and it’s overwhelming to think how much more complex everything has gotten.
I feel like they’re trying real hard to blame “screen time” when in reality people are able to keep up with all the horrid shit corporations are getting away with now. It’s like some form of pseudo censoring. Blame too much screen time because people are more informed now than ever.
I feel like even if you get rid of the screens, what else do teenagers have?
I feel like this is the crux of it. do they think we WANT to be glued to our screens? social hubs are dead or dying, wrung out for profit. people have less time than ever, having to work and spread themselves thin just to stay afloat. mental healthcare is inaccessible to huge swathes of the population and our parents who can afford it refuse it. outside is a car dependent hellscape with increasingly unpleasant weather and increasingly agitated people. as a neurodivergent person it feels impossible to navigate. the phones don’t exactly help, but they’re certainly not the root of the issue. everybody on social media at this point is well aware of the drawbacks.
Agreed. It’s a notable correlation, but there’s a lot more that goes into it.
Lol wow
Perfect! League of Legends and World of Warcraft will surely save them.
Removed by mod
Not sure if you are talking about your country or generalising all over the world. What you said is not true where I’m from, if the latter.
We’re (American’s specifically, but I see echoes in westernized European countries) propagandized into thinking angst is the natural state of teenagers rather than the natural state of teenagers within this specific system. I think teens can just more clearly see the brutal society they’re about to be forced into and don’t have the cognitive dissonance of benefiting from that brutal society yet.
Very well written piece, thanks for sharing! I’m one of the people that would be very fast to believe social media is one of the big reasons behind this rising levels of depression and anxiety. This text made me reconsider some thoughts I had
There are lots of reasons it could be, or could not be this. It could be related but not directly, like a lack of sunlight. That could be as a result of screen time instead of sunlight, but that’s not necessarily screen time’s fault—anything could keep you from going outside. The evidence that screens in particular are causing these problems is lacking. Same with social media, though I’d be more open to believing that.
Yes. I remember having conversations with a woman in the early 2000’s who was telling me how social media was fucking her brain up by pushing ungodly amounts of beauty bullshit into her feed. This was before iphones.
I believed it then and I believe it now especially with the landfill full of articles pointing to it being the case.
I believed it then and I believe it now especially with the landfill full of articles pointing to it being the case.
It’s like you want to admit you didn’t read the article. Fuck, even the headline says the evidence isn’t clear.
The question to me is, across all demographics, if social media is driving the narcissism epidemic?
and then, is that exacerbating issues traditionally present in teenagers?
I wonder if it works on adults?
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/22/podcasts/hard-fork-apple-lawsuit-reddit-ipo.html Jump to 27 minute mark for the talk with jonathan haidt.
