‘Technology Isn’t The Problem. We’re The Problem.’: Teens’ Underlying Issues Need To Be Understood, Researchers Say
While it's tempting to blame social media and gaming for mental health problems among teens, that is a mistake, says Dr. Michael Rich, an associate professor of pediatrics at Harvard Medical School. “What we need to do is look at the whole picture around these young people; we need to look at how kids and how we all are using social media,” he said. Other news on technology looks at a debate over the term "screen time" and pornography on YouTube.
The New York Times:
When Social Media Is Really Problematic For Adolescents
There has been a lot of worry about adolescents and social media over the past couple of weeks, with new studies and reports raising questions about mental health and vulnerability, sleep and suicide. I recently wrote about the question of whether the word “addiction” is helpful in understanding our worries about adolescents and their relationships to the devices that connect them to their friends and their world. In mid-May, a report in JAMA looked at suicide rates among those aged 10 to 19 over the period from 1975 to 2016; boys have traditionally had higher suicide rates, but the gap has narrowed as rates rose among adolescent girls, with the largest percentage increases among girls aged 10 to 14. (Klass, 6/3)
The New York Times:
‘Screen Time’ Is Over
The debate over screen time is typically accompanied by a good deal of finger-wagging: The digital experience is a ruinous habit, akin to binge-eating curly fries, gambling on cock fights or drinking whiskey with breakfast. Meanwhile, social scientists who are trying to study the actual psychological effects of screen time are left in a bind. For one thing, good luck finding a “control group” of people living the nondigital life or anything close to it. (Carey, 5/31)
The New York Times:
On YouTube’s Digital Playground, An Open Gate For Pedophiles
Christiane C. didn’t think anything of it when her 10-year-old daughter and a friend uploaded a video of themselves playing in a backyard pool. “The video is innocent, it’s not a big deal,” said Christiane, who lives in a Rio de Janeiro suburb. A few days later, her daughter shared exciting news: The video had thousands of views. Before long, it had ticked up to 400,000 — a staggering number for a video of a child in a two-piece bathing suit with her friend. (Fisher and Taub, 6/3)
