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Comment on Study: US kids who said their social media, phone, or video game use was “addictive” were 2x-3x more likely to have thoughts of suicide or self-harm by age 14

Zagorath@aussie.zone ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago

Late last year Australia passed a ban for the use of social media of under-16s. In principle I think this is a really good idea.

Unfortunately they rushed it through without any thought as to how it would actually work in terms of age verification. It’s now been 6 months, which means we’re 6 months away from when it’s supposed to come into effect, and we still don’t have any idea how it’s actually supposed to work. But the principle behind it: the idea that social media is actually really not healthy for our brains, especially at a young and vulnerable age, is a sound one. And there’s only more and more research coming out to support that.

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kautau@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago
I feel like it should be tacked on as a bell curve to older generations too lol. My grandmother and my parents are absolutely hopelessly addicted to Facebook reels, scrolling them nonstop throughout the day, just connecting those ads and wild algorithm messaging with those little dopamine hits.

I remember spending hours tinkering with Linux in my bedroom as a kid and being yelled at for being antisocial and not spending enough time off the computer.

How the turns have tabled

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- Zagorath@aussie.zone ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago
  
  I remember spending hours tinkering with Linux in my bedroom as a kid
  
  I feel like the environment of subject-specific forums and IRC chat that Millennial geeks grew up with is very different from the centralised, generic, algorithm-driven social media that Gen Z grew up with, and non-geeky Millennials, Gen X, and Boomers adopted in the late aughts & '10s. That was really the best of what social media could do, with far fewer of the unhealthy downsides.
  
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  - IsoKiero@sopuli.xyz ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago
    
    centralised, generic, algorithm-driven social media
    
    Which is always within your fingers. I spent my fair time in IRC and early web-era forums and whatever we had at the time but it was on a full blown desktop computer with CRT displays. It was tied to a location and when you were even on another room that thing didn’t follow you, much less when you left home.
    
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homesweethomeMrL@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago
In the meantime: Parents: don’t give your children lighted rectangles to play with.

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