I have been following the general public's reactions to this news about social media and its impact on eating disorders and mental health. And what I am seeing is that the real point is not truly being understood. For example, read the comments on the KSL article posted 12/9 on the topic.
Yes, it's well known that social media of any type has a questionable impact on mental health. Some research shows that social media can have a positive impact. Examples that I see of this in my practice is patients reporting interactions on pages designed to be support groups, or promote positive body image, or sharing podcasts that support therapy goals. These are clearly all positive places on social media. And, research backs this up. The study that I focused on, which looked at a number of studies (what is called a meta-analysis) showed that those who actively engage in social media, defined as talking to others on Messenger, for instance generally have a positive experience with social media. But those who "passively" use social media tend to have a negative experience. Examples of this are simply looking at others' content, perhaps hitting "like," or maybe commenting, but not directly communicating with others, tend to have more negative experiences. So, that covers what we have known for a while about social media; it can be positive, or it can be negative, BASED ON CHOICES THE USER MAKES.
The reason that was in bold, even though that makes it seem like I'm yelling, is the need to make this very, very important point:
What we now know is that the social media platforms use algorithms that push upon young users content which is harmful. Meaning, what the teen is exposed to goes beyond what they are choosing to view. An algorithm is deciding what they should see, and the suggestions that are presented have the potential to be very damaging.
But, what does that mean? Truly the best example is the stories coming from various congressional members. They are going in and creating fake profiles of 13 year old girls, and then watching what happens on that profile. I believe the first to do it was Senator Richard Blumenthal, and now Utahan Mike Lee is reporting having done the same thing.
And what are they finding? See this quote from yesterday's KSL article: "Why did following Instagram's top recommended account for a 13-year-old girl cause our Explore page to go from showing relatively innocuous things like hairstyling videos to content promoting body dysmorphia, the sexualization of women and content otherwise unsuitable for a 13 year old girl?" Lee asked Mosseri. "What happened?" https://www.ksl.com/article/50308196/sen-mike-lee-to-instagram-youre-the-new-tobacco-whether-you-like-it-or-not
But then you read KSL comments, and people get hung up on each government official's overall political leaning and the generic understanding of social media. This means people are missing the point!
And the longer parents go missing the point, the more kids might well be exposed to the content that is pushed upon their children by an artificial intelligence algorithm.
Now, anyone can go to my Facebook page and see that I "got off" (as defined by having I believe 9 FB friends) Facebook (the only social media I have ever had) weeks ago, after months, likely years, of knowing it was toxic to me. I have no problem with others knowing I have social anxiety. And, for me, social media worsened social anxiety. Did it also provide a form of communication/connection? Sure. But more so it worsened my social anxiety, and let's be honest, social anxiety is not that much fun. So, I finally...finally...decided to stop my exposure to it; not an easy task in our society. I now really only see what horse-related companies are having sales, and for me, that is the perfect use. ;)
Is social media all bad? Absolutely not. But do we all need to better understand how it works and how it might impact us? I would argue the answer to that is a resounding yes! I fear all the news coming out is simply not sinking in, and for social media to eventually improve, it needs to sink in.
Pardon me while I leap off my soapbox.
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