Is There a Problem With Social Media and Impacts on Mental Health?

3min Snip

00:00

Play full episode

Summary

Transcript

Episode notes

The advent of Facebook was initially about social utility and connecting with friends, but the current infinite scrolling feed and instant validation through likes is a stark contrast. The debate about the impacts of social media on mental health has often focused on 'screen time' and new technologies causing moral panics, similar to past fears about novels, radio, television, and video games. The introduction of touch screen technology, especially with the iPhone, has been highlighted as more addictive. When considering the rise in rates of depression and anxiety, the focus has shifted to understanding the input variables such as screen time and social media and their correlation with these mental health issues. Despite the association between social media and mental health, it is important to note that young people use smartphones for various activities, not just social media, and the exact cause of the increase in depression and anxiety, particularly among girls, remains a mystery.

We are in the midst of a teen mental health crisis. Since 2011, the rate of U.S. hospitalizations for preteen girls who have self-harmed is up 189 percent, and with older teen girls, it’s up 62 percent. Tragically, the numbers on suicides are similar — 151 percent higher for preteen girls, and 70 percent higher for older teen girls. NYU social psychologist Jonathan Haidt has spent the last few years trying to figure out why, working with fellow psychologist Jean Twenge, and he believes social media is to blame. Jonathan and Jean found that the mental health data show a stark contrast between Generation Z and Millennials, unlike any demographic divide researchers have seen since World War II, and the division tracks with a sharp rise in social media use. As Jonathan explains in this interview, disentangling correlation and causation is a persistent research challenge, and the debate on this topic is still in full swing. But as TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat and the next big thing fine-tune the manipulative and addictive features that pull teens in, we cannot afford to ignore this problem while we sit back and wait for conclusive results. When it comes to children, our standards need to be higher, and our burden of proof lower.