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There is space for intuition, but the argument the author makes is that intuition is making a mistake here (as it often does). Namely that we think increased ph
by ImaCake 5y ago
There is space for intuition, but the argument the author makes is that intuition is making a mistake here (as it often does). Namely that we think increased phone use is correlated with (or even causal for) negative mental health, but the data does not support this yet. The author thinks we don't have the data to support or debunk this because of poor measurements, and I agree with this. Maybe better, more nuanced measurement will prove a link. But it probably won't be as simple as more phone time == more mental health problems.
My intuition is often wrong, but it is undoubtably useful for me as an individual. But the intuition of crowds is bad. It is no substitute for randomised controlled trials, mendelian randomisation, or even cohort and observational studies. For public health policy I prefer to use evidence over intuition.
- oxymoran 5y agoThe intuition is not 100% accurate but it points you in the right direction for further inquiry. So in this case, maybe it’s not that the amount of screen time in general is causing the mental health issues but it’s constantly being tethered to social media on the phone.
- civilized 5y agoLots of social media isn't necessarily bad either. HN, a carefully-curated Twitter feed, or the right subreddit or web forum can be wonderfully mind-expanding. Without regrets, I have spent many hours reading and discussing things in these digital spaces. My intuition is that the connection between digital environment and mental health will prove similar to the connection between family environment or school environment and mental health: the quality of the environment is overwhelmingly what matters, not how much time is spent in different environments.