It’s popular to think social media harms teens. There is no data to support this. But study after study shows it’s not true.
The head of Common Sense Media, which as a parent I used to think was a useful resource, is pushing nonstop falsehoods and gut feelings on this topic, in support of a dangerous California ballot initiative.
Where California goes on this, much of the western world follows. It’s worthwhile being aware of the facts on this.
h/t @mmasnick
I don't know about the ballot initiative or Common Sense Media, but plenty of studies suggest or show online harms associated with adolescent use of social media. Can you share any specific sources that lead you to believe "no data support this"?
Pediatrics, psychiatry, and public health are among the fields that have contributed to research. Then, there's also the platform's own research, which reported that use was associated with depression, anxiety, and a distorted view of oneself.
A good overview of the types of harms found in both internal and external research can be found here Case Study on Online Youth Harms – Project Daisy
Many of these harms are not unique to social media, just as burns aren't exclusive to car accidents. The claim there's no evidence of harm, though, is difficult to understand.
That is independent of what we do, whether people are overreacting about it and how we approach it, so I want to make that distinction.
Balt, E., Mérelle, S., Robinson, J. et al. Social media use of adolescents who died by suicide: lessons from a psychological autopsy study. Child Adolesc Psychiatry Ment Health 17, 48 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13034-023-00597-9
Bozzola E, Spina G, Agostiniani R, Barni S, Russo R, Scarpato E, Di Mauro A, Di Stefano AV, Caruso C, Corsello G, Staiano A. The Use of Social Media in Children and Adolescents: Scoping Review on the Potential Risks. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 Aug 12;19(16):9960. doi: 10.3390/ijerph19169960.
Finkelhor D, Turner H, Colburn D. Prevalence of Online Sexual Offenses Against Children in the US. JAMA Netw Open. 2022 Oct 3;5(10):e2234471. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2022.34471.
Janice, H. T. (2023). US Surgeon General warns about excessive social media use by young people. BMJ: British Medical Journal (Online), 381 doi:https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.p1211
Li, E. Rosalie. 2023. “Penny for Their Harm.” InfoEpi Lab, December. https://infoepi.org/posts/2023/12/20-penny-for-their-harm.
Riehm KE, Feder KA, Tormohlen KN, et al. Associations Between Time Spent Using Social Media and Internalizing and Externalizing Problems Among US Youth. JAMA Psychiatry. 2019;76(12):1266–1273. doi:10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2019.2325
Franchina, V., Vanden Abeele, M., van Rooij, A. J., Lo Coco, G., & De Marez, L. (2018). Fear of missing out as a predictor of problematic social media use and phubbing behavior among Flemish adolescents. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 15(10), 2319.
Twenge, J. M., Haidt, J., Lozano, J., & Cummins, K. M. (2022). Specification curve analysis shows that social media use is linked to poor mental health, especially among girls. Acta Psychologica, 224(103512), 103512.
Vincente-Benito, I. (2023). Influence of social media use on body image and well-being among adolescents and young adults: A systematic review. Journal of Psychosocial Nursing & Mental Health Services, 61(12), 11-18. doi:https://doi.org/10.3928/02793695-20230524-02
Wilksch, S. M., O’Shea, A., Ho, P., Byrne, S., & Wade, T. D. (2020). The relationship between social media use and disordered eating in young adolescents. The International Journal of Eating Disorders, 53(1), 96–106.
I would agree that some of them have questionable methodology, and I appreciate the response because I think dialogue here is important. Whatever the risk, I want to stress that the solution is not to eliminate social media or cut off kid's access to it.
The answer is to ethically design it and mandate data transparency (I still don't know what's on the ballot, but I figured it's better I don't because it's another point entirely).
The harm seems to unequally affect females, and the research on eating disorders, unwanted sexual advances, and the distortion that comes from social comparison are what I would characterize as concerning. Facebook's data showed that a significant number of girls were receiving unwanted sexual advances, too.
The same types of advances can be weaponized against women, too, to drive them out of public conversation.
@erosalie @c_9 @mmasnick I'm looking at that paper relating to abuse:
1) It's not clear how much selection bias there is in these online survey samples.
2) A significant amount of appears to involve inappropriate behavior between teens. Perhaps, this would be better to address with educational initiatives (rather than pray that state censorship might). It's worth mentioning that teens behaving inappropriately with other teens is not a phenomena that is exclusive to the Internet.
https://publichealth.jhu.edu/2022/pilot-study-finds-school-based-prevention-program-shows-promise-educating-young-adolescents-about-avoiding-child-sexual-abuse-behaviors I don't know how good that is (i.e. does it equate any display of sexuality with abuse / harassment, which... could be counterproductive?), but it appears Johns Hopkins is developing programs in that area.
3) "presumed" ages appear to be used here. The actual ages of apparent perpetrators is unknown.
