3 ms·

Sure, let's blame social media for the troubles of our youth. It's not the endless wars. It's not the endless poverty. It's not the endless divisiveness. It

Sure, let's blame social media for the troubles of our youth. It's not the endless wars. It's not the endless poverty. It's not the endless divisiveness. It's not the endless media fearmongering of X or Y. It's TikTok. It's Instagram. Etc.

1over137 4y ago
Good points. But 3 and 4 are partly caused by social media I think.
- MBCook 4y ago
  They did it plenty before social media. That just accelerated the spread of individual stories.
  - stametseater 4y ago
    Mass media did it from the start, but was less effective because they were trying to create "one size fits all" narratives that could reach and influence very large portions of the population. Recommendation engines tuned to the individual changed the game dramatically. They can lead people down rabbit holes that the other people in their life don't even know to exist. At least when the town newspaper or local church starts shilling some truly wacky shit, everybody in town knows about it. But now youtube/etc personalized recommendation engines can send your brother or father down radicalization paths you never even heard of before and had no possible way of noticing before the damage was done. If you think "Oh I'll just watch youtube to get an idea of what other people are watching", you're stuck in 20th century thinking. It doesn't work like that anymore, youtube/etc are fundamentally unlike old media. These systems have atomized society in a way that newspapers never could.
- chiefalchemist 4y ago
  They existed prior and yes have been elevated since SM. Not necessarily because of SM, but because SM can take the blame while those who drive the wedge get a free pass.
jmathai 4y ago
As a parent, restricting social media is one of the most effective tools I think we have to promote well being. The things you mentioned are also problematic but I can limit social media access and when I do my kids are better off.
- chiefalchemist 4y ago
  My point is, blaming SM and only SM is a (false) oversimplification. There are systematic societal issues getting a free pass because of our collective willingness to buy into a distraction that the cause is SM. Just because adults have normalized the baggage of negativity and lack of progress doesn't mean the kids aren't feeling beyond the lies. FFS, any reasonable adult should be feeling pain and distraught at this point. p.s. I forgot to mention climate change / environmental damage. Imagine being young and thinking "someday this shit-show will be mine." It's foolish and naive to blame SM for this.
  - jmathai 4y ago
    I agree SM isn't the only issue. But I also don't think my teenagers are nearly as concerned about climate change and the world they are inheriting as they are living up to the life social media says they should have and feeling inadequate being unable to attain it.
prawn 4y ago
Is this a bit like "what about all the other cancers?!" in a discussion about breast cancer? It's not as though this prevents action/attention for poverty or other issues. It's one tack of many, whether you agree or not with the plan itself.
docandrew 4y ago
We’ve always had endless wars, endless poverty, endless divisiveness, endless media fearmongering, etc. Those things have all been much worse in the past than they are today (maybe not the media fearmongering). But youth (and adults too) weren’t exposed to it every waking minute of their day the way they are today.
stametseater 4y ago
Endless wars... The children of North America have by in large not experienced war themselves in well over a century, with cartel violence being the standout counterexample of sorts. More lost parents to wars, but the Vietnam War was now a few generations ago and the "wars on terror" effected only tens thousands of North American families in this way, counting all casualties not just fatalities. Tens of thousands sounds like a lot but this country has hundreds of millions of people, so you can hardly explain broad social trends with this. So how else might wars be effecting children in North America? Well for one, children may become depressed after watching tons of graphic foreign war footage online... on social media.....

1over137 4y ago

Good points. But 3 and 4 are partly caused by social media I think.

MBCook 4y ago
They did it plenty before social media. That just accelerated the spread of individual stories.
- stametseater 4y ago
  Mass media did it from the start, but was less effective because they were trying to create "one size fits all" narratives that could reach and influence very large portions of the population. Recommendation engines tuned to the individual changed the game dramatically. They can lead people down rabbit holes that the other people in their life don't even know to exist. At least when the town newspaper or local church starts shilling some truly wacky shit, everybody in town knows about it. But now youtube/etc personalized recommendation engines can send your brother or father down radicalization paths you never even heard of before and had no possible way of noticing before the damage was done. If you think "Oh I'll just watch youtube to get an idea of what other people are watching", you're stuck in 20th century thinking. It doesn't work like that anymore, youtube/etc are fundamentally unlike old media. These systems have atomized society in a way that newspapers never could.
chiefalchemist 4y ago
They existed prior and yes have been elevated since SM. Not necessarily because of SM, but because SM can take the blame while those who drive the wedge get a free pass.

jmathai 4y ago

As a parent, restricting social media is one of the most effective tools I think we have to promote well being. The things you mentioned are also problematic but I can limit social media access and when I do my kids are better off.

chiefalchemist 4y ago
My point is, blaming SM and only SM is a (false) oversimplification. There are systematic societal issues getting a free pass because of our collective willingness to buy into a distraction that the cause is SM. Just because adults have normalized the baggage of negativity and lack of progress doesn't mean the kids aren't feeling beyond the lies. FFS, any reasonable adult should be feeling pain and distraught at this point. p.s. I forgot to mention climate change / environmental damage. Imagine being young and thinking "someday this shit-show will be mine." It's foolish and naive to blame SM for this.
- jmathai 4y ago
  I agree SM isn't the only issue. But I also don't think my teenagers are nearly as concerned about climate change and the world they are inheriting as they are living up to the life social media says they should have and feeling inadequate being unable to attain it.

prawn 4y ago

Is this a bit like "what about all the other cancers?!" in a discussion about breast cancer? It's not as though this prevents action/attention for poverty or other issues. It's one tack of many, whether you agree or not with the plan itself.

docandrew 4y ago

We’ve always had endless wars, endless poverty, endless divisiveness, endless media fearmongering, etc. Those things have all been much worse in the past than they are today (maybe not the media fearmongering). But youth (and adults too) weren’t exposed to it every waking minute of their day the way they are today.

stametseater 4y ago

Endless wars... The children of North America have by in large not experienced war themselves in well over a century, with cartel violence being the standout counterexample of sorts. More lost parents to wars, but the Vietnam War was now a few generations ago and the "wars on terror" effected only tens thousands of North American families in this way, counting all casualties not just fatalities. Tens of thousands sounds like a lot but this country has hundreds of millions of people, so you can hardly explain broad social trends with this. So how else might wars be effecting children in North America? Well for one, children may become depressed after watching tons of graphic foreign war footage online... on social media.....