Internet & the Anxious Generation- teens on phones

Subject: Internet & the Anxious Generation
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 05 Jan 25 - 12:41 PM

This week on Firing Line with Margaret Hoover she interviewed psychologist Jonathan Haidt about the great harm that social media and smart phones have done to adolescents since the development of social media platforms, front facing phones, and more. They also look at some of the platforms out there, in particular, TikTok. This conversation makes it clear why there is a problem, despite the protests of adults that they use these responsibly (but many don't, and the platforms are pretty much free to act irresponsibly with no consequences because of laws that protect these providers.)

There is a transcript with the program that broadcasts on the link above. Here is the start of it:

HOOVER: We’ve known each other for several years, and I have followed your work for many years. You are out with a brand new book, “The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness.” What is the great rewiring?

HAIDT: The great rewiring refers to a five year period, an extraordinary five year period where the nature of life for adolescence changed radically, more than it ever has. In 2010, adolescents had flip phones. They had no, most did not have high speed internet. They had, did not have unlimited data plans. They did not have Instagram. They did not have front facing cameras. Over the next five years, by 2015, most American teens have a smartphone with a front-facing camera, high speed internet. They have an Instagram account or other social media accounts, Snapchat, a bunch of other ones. And now, in 2015, it’s possible to spend almost every waking hour online and many do.

And so my argument in the book is that all of a sudden, boom, in the blink of an eye, childhood became about sitting down and looking at a screen,hour after hour, year after year. And that, I believe, is the major reason why rates of mental illness go skyrocketing around 2012, 2013.

HOOVER: In your book and in your talks, you zero in on three specific dates: 2007 when the iPhone is introduced, 2010 when the first front-facing camera is introduced to the iPhone, and 2012 when Facebook acquires Instagram.

HAIDT: That’s right.

HOOVER: The internet had been around for more than a decade beforehand. And people were using it. So why is it that these developments were so significant?

HAIDT: Yeah. I was born in 1963. I remember the first day someone showed me a web browser. And, you know, it was like God came to Earth and said, do you want unlimited knowledge? Here you go. It was incredible. And all of us adults, we thought, ‘Wow, look what it’s doing for the world. Look what it’s doing for democracy. It’s going to knock down dictators.’ We were all very optimistic about the World Wide Web. In 2009 Twitter invents the retweet button. Facebook copies it with the share with the share button. Facebook puts on the Like button. Everybody copies it. And so before then, social media was called social networking systems, SNS. You connect to people. After then it’s called a social media platform. You stand on it to perform at others and you’re desperately fighting for attention. You’re trying to be noticed. You’re trying to go viral. So the millennials were basically through puberty by the time this great rewiring happens.

That’s why they’re okay, I believe. The definition of Gen Z, I would say in it, you know, the definition of Gen-Z, is that they went through puberty on super viral social media, on a smartphone in their pocket, that was giving them notifications and calling them away from whatever they were doing, calling them away from people, calling them away from their friends. You can see them sitting in a lunchroom next to each other, each on their phone. That is not a way that a human being can grow up. And that all happened between 2010 and 2015.

I broke up the paragraphs a little just so they're easier to read.

Subject: RE: Internet & the Anxious Generation- teens on phones
From: meself
Date: 05 Jan 25 - 03:12 PM

Yup. And the idea that any of the corporations behind this phenomena will do anything to lesson the resultant harms without being forced to by law is laughable. I understand that Australia, at least, has taken steps in the right direction.

Subject: RE: Internet & the Anxious Generation- teens on phones
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 05 Jan 25 - 04:43 PM

From Amnesty International - Social media ban: what is it and what will it mean for young people?

From Australian Human Rights Commission Proposed Social Media Ban for Under-16s in Australia - UPDATE: This legislation has now been passed by both houses of parliament.

From Headspace National Youth Mental Health Foundation The Social Media Ban: Staying informed

Subject: RE: Internet & the Anxious Generation- teens on phones
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 05 Jan 25 - 04:50 PM

just saw this - TikTok creators left in limbo awaiting decision on potential platform ban

Subject: RE: Internet & the Anxious Generation- teens on phones
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 05 Jan 25 - 04:52 PM

for some reason I couldn't add this link from Politico to my last post -

Australia Banned Kids From Social Media. Now It Has Advice for the US.

Subject: RE: Internet & the Anxious Generation- teens on phones
From: Doug Chadwick
Date: 05 Jan 25 - 07:16 PM

When I was young, television was deemed to be the undoing of the nation's youth. If we watched too much, we would end up with square eyes. A few months ago, I saw a programme where a mother was complaining that she couldn't get her children off their video games long enough to watch a decent amount of television.

I have no idea what technology will be available to young people in the year 2050, but I confidently predict that their parents will look back at 2025 as a gloden age.

As the old saying has it:- If you want to know if things will be worse in the future, ask your grandmother.

DC

Subject: RE: Internet & the Anxious Generation- teens on phones
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 05 Jan 25 - 08:52 PM

It's not a question of the technology that is available, it is how it affects mental health of impressionable kids and teens. It isn't just information in from the radio or TV or video games, now it's interactions with malicious players who troll and trash and promote self harm.

Subject: RE: Internet & the Anxious Generation- teens on phones
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 05 Jan 25 - 09:57 PM

I can remember being bullied TWICE at school - how many of today's kids are only bullied once or twice?

Subject: RE: Internet & the Anxious Generation- teens on phones
From: meself
Date: 05 Jan 25 - 10:39 PM

"television was deemed to be the undoing of the nation's youth." And it wasn't?

Subject: RE: Internet & the Anxious Generation- teens on phones
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 05 Jan 25 - 11:09 PM

TV was a mild problem compared to the aggressive predators who roam the Internet today, with the blessing of the various media companies.

Beer versus Fentanyl. Seriously. Watching TV instead of reading a book is so mild compared to today and what young users are subjected to by their peers and by predators who insinuate themselves into communities. The hazards are light years apart.

Subject: RE: Internet & the Anxious Generation- teens on phones
From: Donuel
Date: 10 Jan 25 - 04:28 PM

Suicide clubs who compete to end lives via the internet by inspiring suicide do exist. I had a run-in with such a group 10 years ago.
They targeted my autistic son.

Subject: RE: Internet & the Anxious Generation- teens on phones
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 10 Jan 25 - 04:38 PM

I'll share this bit I also posted on another thread today - Think on KERA-FM had as today's topic a discussion with the author of Tech has outpaced evolution. There will be a link to the program and you'll find a link to the book if you're interested. The guest was Richard E. Cytowic, professor of neurology at George Washington University.