+bonifartius 𒂼𒄄
hot take:
addictive screen use isn't leading to mental health issues in the youth, it's a symptom.
society increasingly doesn't care, so kids are trying to compensate.
that doesn't mean that commercial social media isn't designed to be addictive. the truth is that kids not properly cared for will be addicted to _something_. it's just another thing to get addicted to, which is easily accessible and doesn't raise immediate suspicion.
if it wasn't media consumption, it would be booze, weed or something else.
@PurpCat yeah, or not caring or any of the things that lead to addicitve behavior before. it's like blaming "violent videogames" for everything :)
@bonifartius@qoto.org
I feel very strongly about this and agree.
@gabriel i wonder if there were positive effects for when everyone went crazy because of corona and lockdowns were happening. while not ideal, at least there is some contact with others. i don't think hanging out in irc did make things worse for me. otoh those systems weren't designed by psychologists to be more addictive.
Still, this symptom — as the others you mentioned — is enforcing the mental health issues.
That's how normality is designed.
@DCR oh, absolutely, but the consequences are again some technocratic bullshit like banning teens from social media. fixing society would mean a 180° turn in most of todays policies, like having everyone work full time with the children being cared for by strangers or the constant barrage of doomsday due to climate change, chinese colds, etc.
banning won't work. banning drugs hasn't worked. banning video games hasn't worked.
teens will just switch to using to another centralized medium like wechat or something else that isn't regulated by the west. just like i pirated video games i couldn't buy.
