Social Media and Adolescent Health (2024) / Chapter Skim
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1 Introduction
1 Introduction
Pages 15-30
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From page 15... ...
Against this backdrop of ambivalence about the role of social media in the lives of young people emerged a series of revelations in fall 2021 from Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen. Internal documents shared with the Wall Street Journal, cited internal research on the platform's potential for harm.
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From page 16... ...
Escape from the psychological cues that encourage toxic behavior becomes logistically impossible when the trigger follows the user everywhere, all the time, in a handheld device. An interest in the relation between youth mental health and social networking were at the root of Facebook's market research on teen mental health.
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From page 17... ...
INTRODUCTION 17 100% 80% 60% 57% 40% 36% 29% 21% 20% 0% 2011 2013 2015 2017 2019 2021 Female Male FIGURE 1-1 Percentage of female and male students who experience persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness, 2011 to 2021.
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From page 18... ...
. For these reasons, the Trevor Project, a suicide prevention organization for LGBTQ+ youth, recommended supportive
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. During typical adolescent development, heightened sensitivity to peer evaluation can make the experience of online social exclusion or conflict, a central part of social media use, more intense (Nesi, 2020)
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Nevertheless, a suspicion that social media is at the root of young people's mental health problems has motivated state legislatures around the country to curb adolescent use of social media and take action against the companies that profit from it. In March 2023, the governor of Utah signed a bill limiting the use of social networking and gaming sites by anyone under 18; in California, recent legislation prohibits tech companies from using minors' personal information in ways that could harm them (Metz and Ortutay, 2023; Willon, 2022)
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From page 21... ...
In defining the scope of this report, the committee first struggled in classifying the media in question. Social media platforms vary widely, and a definition that calls out specific platforms or apps risks quickly becoming irrelevant; social networking platforms wax and wane in popularity, especially among young people.
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From page 22... ...
In what ways, if any, does social or digital media affect the mental and physical health and well-being of adolescents and children (age 13–18 years) , including anxiety, depression, addiction and self-efficacy, social isolation, relationship malformation, relationship with their parents, life satisfaction, and physical activity?
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From page 23... ...
. The term "digital media" is sometimes used as a parent category to capture all media consumed through screens in recognition of the fact that lines between various forms of digital and interactive media are increasingly blurred (Chassiakos et al., 2016)
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From page 24... ...
This is an understandable consequence of the nature of the social media exposure; it is reasonable to wonder, even if constant social comparison or public feedback has psychological consequences, if the same would influence physical health in the same immediate, observable way. Chapter 4 explains how vastly more research has been done linking social media to mental health outcomes than physical ones, with the possible exception of sleep disruptions.
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From page 25... ...
A Comment on Age In reviewing their charge, the committee members and representatives of the sponsoring organizations discussed the task's reference to both adolescents and children and its emphasis on the 13- to 18-year-old age range. On one hand, this age group may be seen to be at heightened risk, partly on the basis of a legal technicality: The Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA)
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The next two chapters discuss how social media affect well-being and review recent evidence on the benefits and harms associated with digital media use. Chapter 5 considers how changes to the design of social media might improve transparency and public confidence in the platforms.
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From page 27... ...
Wall Street Journal. https://www.wsj.com/articles/facebook whistleblower-frances-haugen-says-she-wants-to-fix-the-company-not-harm-it 11633304122 (accessed March 27, 2023)
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2023. Promoting safeguards for young people in the digital media & marketing sys tem (The Children's Online Privacy Protection Act)
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Wall Street Journal. https://s.wsj.net/public/ resources/documents/teen-mental-health-deep-dive.pdf (accessed March 27, 2023)
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