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.
@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.