4 ms·

Also, it's really easy to see how social media is directly affecting kids' mental health. Instagram, TikTok, SnapChat, YouTube, Twitch, on these sites are an en

by idrios 4y ago

Also, it's really easy to see how social media is directly affecting kids' mental health. Instagram, TikTok, SnapChat, YouTube, Twitch, on these sites are an endless stream of people their who are better looking, smarter, more successful, funnier, more interesting than them. If you have insecurities, these sites will amplify them. And if you admire someone on one of these platforms, that person literally has no idea who you are and that admiration will not be reciprocated. But unlike the celebrities of yore, a kid can leave comments in a livestream or on a picture or a video and get a response, and they might end up developing a parasocial relationship. It was bad enough when I was in high school when all we had was Facebook, because we were comparing the whole of ourselves to our peers in their best light. It is so much worse now.

Cthulhu_ 4y ago
I don't believe the social medias are that much different from what preceding generations were exposed to; TV, magazines, movies, etc all showed more idealized lifestyles. The one difference I will point out though, is that with social media it becomes a lot more attainable to become like that. There's complete randoms that became celebrities through social media - and they don't even need to be conventionally attractive like the celebrities of old.
- pmlnr 4y ago
  > I don't believe the social medias are that much different from what preceding generations were exposed to; TV, magazines, movies, etc all showed more idealized lifestyles. It is: TV was never meant to make you believe it's real or that someone's life is actually like that. "Reality" TV was always deliberately focused on drama.
  - ClumsyPilot 4y ago
    'TV was never meant to make you believe it's real' 'Reality TV' is a thing
    - brewdad 4y ago
      The most successful ones threw people into situations that were completely unlike real life for 99.999% of the population. Survivor? Real World/Big Brother? An interview/apprenticeship with Trump with completely made-up "challenges" each week? None of these are real in any meaningful sense.
      - heavyset_go 4y ago
        This is ignoring the popularity of shows like The Jersey Shore or The Real Housewives of ___, which I can tell you from experience, people took as "real life" and emulated.
  - heavyset_go 4y ago
    Growing up, there were plenty of people who thought reality TV was how life is actually like. Same goes for sitcoms and teen dramas.
- austinjp 4y ago
  It's quantifiably different in several dimensions, including access to media and the sophistication with which messages are tailored and targeted.
- mellavora 4y ago
  And I don't believe in the tooth fairy. If you want to claim that social media is very similar to TV/magazine, then you should provide some reasons for this. The difference you point out actually adds to the mental health issues. Because it is not at all "a lot more attainable to become" a celeb on SM than on TV. If this claim was true, then the percentage of celebs would be higher today than it was then; i.e. 0.1% of the population vs 0.01%. That is not the case. There is only one Kardishan family. But because it seems easier, then it is also easier to blame yourself for not achieving it.
- bsenftner 4y ago
  > I don't believe the social medias are that much different from what preceding generations were exposed to; TV, magazines, movies, etc all showed more idealized lifestyles. You're overlooking the demographic targeting, and how that seeks to place content before the user's eyes that generates the "most engagement". That mechanism right there makes social media SIGNIFICANTLY different.

by idrios 4y ago

Cthulhu_ 4y ago

I don't believe the social medias are that much different from what preceding generations were exposed to; TV, magazines, movies, etc all showed more idealized lifestyles. The one difference I will point out though, is that with social media it becomes a lot more attainable to become like that. There's complete randoms that became celebrities through social media - and they don't even need to be conventionally attractive like the celebrities of old.

pmlnr 4y ago
> I don't believe the social medias are that much different from what preceding generations were exposed to; TV, magazines, movies, etc all showed more idealized lifestyles. It is: TV was never meant to make you believe it's real or that someone's life is actually like that. "Reality" TV was always deliberately focused on drama.
- ClumsyPilot 4y ago
  'TV was never meant to make you believe it's real' 'Reality TV' is a thing
  - brewdad 4y ago
    The most successful ones threw people into situations that were completely unlike real life for 99.999% of the population. Survivor? Real World/Big Brother? An interview/apprenticeship with Trump with completely made-up "challenges" each week? None of these are real in any meaningful sense.
    - heavyset_go 4y ago
      This is ignoring the popularity of shows like The Jersey Shore or The Real Housewives of ___, which I can tell you from experience, people took as "real life" and emulated.
- heavyset_go 4y ago
  Growing up, there were plenty of people who thought reality TV was how life is actually like. Same goes for sitcoms and teen dramas.
austinjp 4y ago
It's quantifiably different in several dimensions, including access to media and the sophistication with which messages are tailored and targeted.
mellavora 4y ago
And I don't believe in the tooth fairy. If you want to claim that social media is very similar to TV/magazine, then you should provide some reasons for this. The difference you point out actually adds to the mental health issues. Because it is not at all "a lot more attainable to become" a celeb on SM than on TV. If this claim was true, then the percentage of celebs would be higher today than it was then; i.e. 0.1% of the population vs 0.01%. That is not the case. There is only one Kardishan family. But because it seems easier, then it is also easier to blame yourself for not achieving it.
bsenftner 4y ago
> I don't believe the social medias are that much different from what preceding generations were exposed to; TV, magazines, movies, etc all showed more idealized lifestyles. You're overlooking the demographic targeting, and how that seeks to place content before the user's eyes that generates the "most engagement". That mechanism right there makes social media SIGNIFICANTLY different.