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> Social media is global, so any effects it has should be visible globally. That isn't true at all. There may be a hundred factors at play, which are all diff
by mabbo 4y ago
> Social media is global, so any effects it has should be visible globally.
That isn't true at all.
There may be a hundred factors at play, which are all different in different cultures, regions, countries, etc. The cultural context of an individual can dramatically change how they react to situations, pressures, and mental illness.
- renewiltord 4y agoFascinating. It is a pity then that our culture is so terrible as to make teens have mental illness at rates that dwarf other nations (who have cultures that are far superior at keeping teens mentally healthy). It is a shame that we blame social media for this when clearly it is our culture that is the difference and the cause.
- selimthegrim 4y agoWhich other nations?
- hcurtiss 4y agoAgreed. As an aside, I find it interesting that people are willing to attribute cultural differences to disparate outcomes in this context, but not in other contexts like racial income disparities.
- yamtaddle 4y agoDo schools in other countries let kids—elementary school and up—take smartphones to school and (due to inability to harshly police it because of reluctance to take phones, since it pisses off parents) use them quite a bit in class? I was shocked to find out that's a widespread policy/practice in the US, these days, and I'd be surprised if other countries are following us off that particular very-stupid cliff. What's the median age of first smartphone for kids coming up in other OECD states? Social media has a much smaller effect if you have to go to the family computer to use it, or whatever, than if you've got it in your pocket all day and are checking it constantly when the teacher's not looking....
- zeroonetwothree 4y agoI just randomly picked France, and it looks like their age of first smartphone is around 11-12[1] (as of 2018 study, so maybe even lower now). In the US it's 11.6 years[2]. So seems about the same. I don't feel like checking every other country but hopefully this disputes the claim that the US is somehow completely abnormal. [1] https://www.statista.com/statistics/1076293/age-obtaining-first-smartphone-teenagers-france/ https://www.statista.com/statistics/1076293/age-obtaining-fi... [2] https://med.stanford.edu/news/all-news/2022/11/children-mobile-phone-age.html https://med.stanford.edu/news/all-news/2022/11/children-mobi...
- prawn 4y agoIs the issue likely to be smartphones at school, or access to smartphones the rest of the time? Commute, in their room, etc.