discussion Psychologist says people under 16 should be banned from social media

[Europe]

Jonathan Haidt, social psychologist and author of The Anxious Generation, a book which was #1 on the New York Times bestseller list for 12 weeks, said that social media is harmful to young people and gives them mental health issues, specially to girls, who are more sensitive to it than boys.
His suggestions to remedy the situation:
 

Quote

1. No smartphones before high school
"Millennials went through puberty with flip phones, and flip phones aren't particularly bad. You use them just to communicate," Haidt told ABC News. "It was when we gave kids smartphones, and then right around that time they also got … social media accounts. When kids move their social lives onto social media, it's not human. It doesn't help them develop. And right away, mental health collapses."
2. No social media before 16
"Let kids get through the most vulnerable period of brain development before connecting them to a firehose of social comp and algorithmically chosen influencers"
3. Phone-free schools
imagine, for those of you who went to school before the internet, imagine that the school had a new rule: You can bring in your television from home, you can bring in your walkie-talkie, you can bring in your record player, put it all on your desk, we'll give you an outlet, and you can do that during class while the teacher's talking. This is complete insanity. But that's what we've done.
4. Far more unsupervised play and childhood independence

https://fortune.com/well/article/rules-for-curbing-kid-smartphone-use-mental-health-crisis/

Do you think his ideas have merit, or is he being too strict?

[John Slayne]

i wouldn't go as far as to say a ban would solve anything but i agree with his general points, there are many downsides to children having access to social media. even adults can't really make sense of it half of the time.

[John Slayne]

4 minutes ago, AbeHicks said:

put it all on your desk, we'll give you an outlet, and you can do that during class while the teacher's talking.

now... it's been a few years since i was in high school but i don't think kids in most places have outlets on their desks and teachers DO confiscate phones when used in class.

[nadiamendell]

Gen X'ers and Boomers should also be banned. 

[glitch]

Stan twitter is shaking

[BGKC]

1 minute ago, nadiamendell said:

Gen X'ers and Boomers should also be banned. 

Amen. So true. 

[Virgos Groove]

I don't disagree, but if you tried to take away my social media when I was 16, I would've gone feral.

[hypnodemiluv]

Demi's impact 

[aotwbys]

If social media vanished overnight, kids wouldn't just spontaneously start playing in the park again 

[Europe]

11 minutes ago, nadiamendell said:

Gen X'ers and Boomers should also be banned. 

There is another interesting social psychologist who talked about that recently, he brought up some good points. Basically gen x stole the potential of today's youth and withholds wealth

 

Edited October 6 by AbeHicks

[Princess Aurora]

This but don't forget that people above the age of 45 should be banned from social media as well 

Edited October 6 by Princess Aurora

[Anthinos]

I'm 30 and I also had to withdraw from social media because all the hate was damaging me psychologically. You can protect young people, but that won't make the problems go away.
Social media in its current form has harmed all groups. I don't know what the solution could be but something has to change.

[LegaMyth]

I hate to be that person, but I agree to some extent. I tried to have a conversation with my niece, who spends most of her free time on social media, and she sounds like a damn google map voice setting. Her sentences are never complete and she's always following trends. 

 

Plus, there's easy access to porn and violence.

 

Edited October 6 by LegaMyth

[ScorpiosGroove]

everyone under 16 and everyone over 40 should be banned 

[Dula Peep]

Do we have an age limit here on ATRL? Cause I'm starting to think that some of you are literal children… 

[Devin]

i agree way too much negative influences. 

[Burn]

hard agree

[Rhyme]

He's completely right. Actually, anyone 19 and below shouldn't have access to the internet. It's for their own good.

[Proseductice]

2 minutes ago, Anthinos said:

I'm 30 and I also had to withdraw from social media because all the hate was damaging me psychologically. You can protect young people, but that won't make the problems go away.
Social media in its current form has harmed all groups. I don't know what the solution could be but something has to change.

I agree with this. Even as an adult with a fully developed brain, navigating social media with all its current growing hate is extremely difficult. I've been tempted to delete all my social media multiples of times. If it's hard for people above 18+, I can't imagine how bad it is for those that are even younger. Many even at 8-10 years of age having their own unmonitored accounts on social media. 

 

Social media had only started getting more popularity when I was entering high school. It had its own issues then, but I feel like it's gotten exponentially worse since with its negative effects. It's hard to conclude what a proper solution would look like....

[Europe]

21 minutes ago, Princess Aurora said:

This but don't forget that people above the age of 45 should be banned from social media as well 

 

8 minutes ago, ScorpiosGroove said:

everyone under 16 and everyone over 40 should be banned 

You guys really don't want Madonna fans online anymore

[AvadaKedavra]

Disagree on phone-free schools:
I grew up in the early 2000s, and honestly, I was so bored in middle and high school. It felt like going to jail. Back then, phones and the internet were luxuries (the perks of living in the third world). Without a good social circle, school was rough. Recess and class time dragged with nothing to do, and I had no access to good books since they were expensive and I lived in a small town with no good access to libraries. The girls at my school were super cliquey, and the guys were always playing soccer—so dull. Having a phone with internet at that age would've been a game-changer.

I understand the "no phones in class" rule because students do get easily distracted. But AI tools like ChatGPT or Perplexity could be allowed, as they're great resources for answering questions or providing assistance when teachers are stretched thin. Im angry how i didnt have access to those tools when i was younger lol
Maybe phones should be allowed during breaks—45 minutes of class, then a 15-minute break. As others have said, it's about control, not a full ban.
I like the concept of educatin people of what is best for them than the concept of baning things. 
 

Now, about social media:
I completely agree 100% it can be toxic. Teens constantly compare themselves with others, which destroys their mental health.
There's so much hate and negativity and things theyre not ready to handle cause their brains are just not developed enough and theyre goin through hormones. Vulnerable.
Growing up without it helped my mental health so much. I had Myspace but it was more personal and fun, unlike Facebook and Instagram, which are all about showing off.
When Facebook started gaining traction (2008-2009), I was 15-16 and mature enough to handle it critically.

I've seen stats showing teen suicides rising, and I wonder if social media is to blame.

[Jotham]

He's right, and I feel like social media will only get worse and worse over time.

 

I worked at a summer camp over the summer for fifth graders and a lot of the boys there were already using Discord, which I found very concerning given how many creeps use that app.

[Mitsouko]

No, ban social media outright

[Initials]

All of that and parents should stop posting videos and photos of their children online.

Keep it for your family and friends exclusively.

[Tusk]

Anyone who films themselves cooking, getting ready, shopping in a store, playing with their kids, etc and constantly posts that stuff online has a mental illness, no matter the age.