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Surprisingly it is obvious for Gen Z that social media in its current form is highly addictive and destabilizing in terms of well-being because (usually framed

by dav_Oz 2y ago

Surprisingly it is obvious for Gen Z that social media in its current form is highly addictive and destabilizing in terms of well-being because (usually framed as "mental health"). Since I'm older I had a more of a choice in terms of social media presence (and get away with basically none) the younger folks practically don't. Basically, I could have got "hooked" as my pre-frontal cortex was already fully developed and I kindly declined. Gen Z for the most part was confronted with the "choice" of small dopamine hits designed after the newest slot machine research [0][1] when they were underage. As others have pointed out the 90s-00s had its own limitations and frustrations so going back to that nobody is really nostalgic about that part but back then you had to at least choose video games (install it, meet the hardware requirements and get sufficiently proficient in it ;) ) to get to today's level of addiction which permeates mainstream online social interactions. [0]https://ihpi.umich.edu/news/social-media-copies-gambling-methods-create-psychological-cravings https://ihpi.umich.edu/news/social-media-copies-gambling-met... [1]https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11245-024-10031-0 https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11245-024-10031-0

donw 2y ago
We are very careful with our kids in terms of they interact with technology for this reason. Raising luddites that can't type won't serve them well over the course of their lives, but neither will allowing them to become tap-and-scroll dopamine zombies. It's a difficult balance. My strategy will undoubtedly evolve over time, but I suppose it could be summarized as "permit supportive technology, aggressively deny anything else" Of particular note is that most, if not all, "for kids" content is actively harmful. The key to making things work is having a cohort of parents that have similar priorities. If the parents in your social group default to shutting Junior up with an iPad, you're going to have a bad time.
- ericd 2y ago
  On the last bit, it seems like more parents are coming around to your way of thinking, and our public school system just sent out a survey about how hard they should ban personal electronics from our public schools.
- scruple 2y ago
  > The key to making things work is having a cohort of parents that have similar priorities. If the parents in your social group default to shutting Junior up with an iPad, you're going to have a bad time. This has been our priority as parents forming peer groups with other parents. But it's very hard to find the kids that your kids like and are friends with who aren't constantly inundated with tech.
- 1over137 2y ago
  Shutting junior up with iPad seems to be the default. When those parents were kids, they were shut up with television. In a way, nothing’s changed.
  - metaltyphoon 2y ago
    The diversity of what is brings shown has changed. If your tv show wasn’t on then oh well. Meanwhile with an iPad you can pick and choose at an instant. The attention span is ridiculous less using an iPad
jdthedisciple 2y ago
> Surprisingly it is obvious for Gen Z that social media in its current form is highly addictive and destabilizing in terms of well-being because (usually framed as "mental health") Is it? It certainly is obvious to this particular 18 year old, but perhaps he is just above the 99th percentile of his generation in terms of intelligence. Most others seem oblivious to this reality in my observation.
- umbra07 2y ago
  Just about everyone I know understands that social media is addictive, and can lead to a littany of/exacerbate mental health issues. All my friends constantly joke about being addicted to x social media app
- jajko 2y ago
  It is. Its normalization of failure / suffering. in a village full of alcoholics, drinking with your family/neighbors was part of greeting, social contracts, or venting out frustrations. It was evident to everybody how things end up down the line without exception, but when all are in the suck, mentally it feels better. Our herd social behavior which make humans such a successful species are showing its darker, and easy to abuse side.
- dav_Oz 2y ago
  GenZ are mostly aware[0] but feel powerless about it so they don't act accordingly which may seem that they are oblivious. From personal experience in a controlled setting (tutoring) if I'm strict about the form: no phone and all learning material prepared beforehand I get mostly positive feedback and some even feel relief for that time. Imo the deeper truth of the matter is that they are used to adults struggling to give them full attention, too, a two-way-street but all the blame is usually given to the younger folk. I find it surprising because it took e.g. smokers a lot longer although the evidence was overwhelming [1] in 1964. Today (almost) every tobacco smoker acknowledges the negative health effects. It is a insidious kind of addiction: a massive amount of very short-lived, small dopamine spikes throughout the day seamlessly incorporated into your "normal" functional life which makes it extremely hard to get out of the loop. [0]https://talker.news/2024/08/28/why-3-in-4-gen-z-blame-social-media-for-their-mental-health-decline/ https://talker.news/2024/08/28/why-3-in-4-gen-z-blame-social... [1]https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/add.16007 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/add.16007

by dav_Oz 2y ago

donw 2y ago

We are very careful with our kids in terms of they interact with technology for this reason. Raising luddites that can't type won't serve them well over the course of their lives, but neither will allowing them to become tap-and-scroll dopamine zombies. It's a difficult balance. My strategy will undoubtedly evolve over time, but I suppose it could be summarized as "permit supportive technology, aggressively deny anything else" Of particular note is that most, if not all, "for kids" content is actively harmful. The key to making things work is having a cohort of parents that have similar priorities. If the parents in your social group default to shutting Junior up with an iPad, you're going to have a bad time.

ericd 2y ago
On the last bit, it seems like more parents are coming around to your way of thinking, and our public school system just sent out a survey about how hard they should ban personal electronics from our public schools.
scruple 2y ago
> The key to making things work is having a cohort of parents that have similar priorities. If the parents in your social group default to shutting Junior up with an iPad, you're going to have a bad time. This has been our priority as parents forming peer groups with other parents. But it's very hard to find the kids that your kids like and are friends with who aren't constantly inundated with tech.
1over137 2y ago
Shutting junior up with iPad seems to be the default. When those parents were kids, they were shut up with television. In a way, nothing’s changed.
- metaltyphoon 2y ago
  The diversity of what is brings shown has changed. If your tv show wasn’t on then oh well. Meanwhile with an iPad you can pick and choose at an instant. The attention span is ridiculous less using an iPad

jdthedisciple 2y ago

> Surprisingly it is obvious for Gen Z that social media in its current form is highly addictive and destabilizing in terms of well-being because (usually framed as "mental health") Is it? It certainly is obvious to this particular 18 year old, but perhaps he is just above the 99th percentile of his generation in terms of intelligence. Most others seem oblivious to this reality in my observation.

umbra07 2y ago
Just about everyone I know understands that social media is addictive, and can lead to a littany of/exacerbate mental health issues. All my friends constantly joke about being addicted to x social media app
jajko 2y ago
It is. Its normalization of failure / suffering. in a village full of alcoholics, drinking with your family/neighbors was part of greeting, social contracts, or venting out frustrations. It was evident to everybody how things end up down the line without exception, but when all are in the suck, mentally it feels better. Our herd social behavior which make humans such a successful species are showing its darker, and easy to abuse side.
dav_Oz 2y ago
GenZ are mostly aware[0] but feel powerless about it so they don't act accordingly which may seem that they are oblivious. From personal experience in a controlled setting (tutoring) if I'm strict about the form: no phone and all learning material prepared beforehand I get mostly positive feedback and some even feel relief for that time. Imo the deeper truth of the matter is that they are used to adults struggling to give them full attention, too, a two-way-street but all the blame is usually given to the younger folk. I find it surprising because it took e.g. smokers a lot longer although the evidence was overwhelming [1] in 1964. Today (almost) every tobacco smoker acknowledges the negative health effects. It is a insidious kind of addiction: a massive amount of very short-lived, small dopamine spikes throughout the day seamlessly incorporated into your "normal" functional life which makes it extremely hard to get out of the loop. [0]https://talker.news/2024/08/28/why-3-in-4-gen-z-blame-social-media-for-their-mental-health-decline/ https://talker.news/2024/08/28/why-3-in-4-gen-z-blame-social... [1]https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/add.16007 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/add.16007