In a previous thread, we looked at social media addiction from a humorous side, however, the ramifications can be quite serious- deadly even.
I recently came across an article about parents who are suing FB/INSTAGRAM & Snapchat, claiming it’s “addictive by design” and was the reason their son took his life.
This got me thinking- Is social media 100% to blame? Do we hold some personal responsibility as to how we use it? Should parents be more vigilant about their children’s access to social media?
Those of you here, who are parents to kids under 18, how do you handle social media usage with your children?
It is addictive by design. Read the book Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport and watch the netflix doc a Socail Dilemma. Social media was not designed to make the world a better place. It was designed to be addictive to keep our eyes on the screens to be sold as a commodity to advertisers. Now do not get me wrong a lot of people do a lot of good charity work etc over social media but in my opinion social media has caused more harm than good. There are numerous examples of kids getting bullied over social media and eventually leading to suicide because they felt like there was no other option. We were lab rats. They figured out how to use our brains addictive capabilities. Best we can do is spread the word about what these companies are trying to do and from there decide what type of relationship we want with our technology
@cardio79 Do you think we should look at social media like we do at cigarettes? The way cigarette manufacturers KNEW of the dangers & risk of smoking, yet covered it up. Once it was out in the open & they couldn’t deny it, all sorts of restrictions were put on the product,
Now, when I see someone smoking, I feel like they know what they are doing to themselves & it’s their free will. If they get sick or have complications, those are just consequences.
100 percent. I forget which company, but they admitted they tried to make cigarettes as addictive as possible. It comes down to the all mighty dollar. All these companies care about is selling us as a product to the highest bidder. It is up to us to realize that this is what is going on and then fight back for our freedom. Because we are being manipulated every single day
It’s true that social media addiction is a complex issue. But parents play an important role in guiding and setting boundaries for their children’s use of social media. It’s crucial to educate children on safe and responsible usage habits. This can include setting time limits, discussing the potential risks and downsides.
It’s true that social media addiction is a complex issue. But parents play an important role in guiding and setting boundaries for their children’s use of social media. It’s crucial to educate children on safe and responsible usage habits. This can include setting time limits, discussing the potential risks and downsides. Having open and ongoing conversations about their experiences on social media could help too. They should understand there are so many ways to get IG likes and Tik Tok views without doing something inappropriate. This way, negative incidents can be avoided.
For any of you that have traded in the stock market in the USA, you will know that what every company wants to do is to beat the quarterly earnings estimates that are published by analysts. From my experience most companies don’t really care how they are able to increase their quarterly profits, as long as they are able to beat all of their earnings estimates for each quarter. So, if someone in a public company comes up with a new idea to make money that is not responsible, most of the time the idea will be implemented.
Public companies have a responsibility to their shareholders to be as profitable as possible each and every quarter. If being profitable, and beating earnings estimates, each and every quarter means mistreating or abusing their customers then that’s just part of doing business.
Hey there! It’s a commonly debated topic whether social media is to blame for internet addiction. On one hand, social media provides an easily accessible platform to connect with others and stay entertained, but on the other hand, it can also be a major time-sink and potentially lead to excessive use.
Social media is a contributing factor to internet addiction, but it is not the only cause.
Internet addiction has existed before social media. While social media has made the internet more accessible and engaging, internet addiction has been recognized as a problem since the early days of the internet.
While the specific platforms and activities that people use online have changed over time (I remember Myspace) the underlying issue of excessive internet use that interferes with daily life has remained a constant- it’s the internet.
Hey there! It’s a commonly debated topic whether social media is to blame for internet addiction. On one hand, social media provides an easily accessible platform to connect with others and stay entertained, but on the other hand, it can also be a major time-sink and potentially lead to excessive use.
It’s important to remember that social media is just a tool, and how we use it is up to us. Setting boundaries and limiting screen time can help prevent addiction, as can finding other ways to spend our time and connect with others.
But if you’re looking to increase your presence on Tik Tok, you can buy TikTok auto likes to help boost your content’s visibility and engagement. Just remember to use social media in moderation and prioritize real-life connections and experiences!
@rebeccawax Yeah, Social media is a real mixed bag.
I like the fact that I can keep in touch with friends, but it can really mess with your head, if you let it.
It can be a lot of pressure to keep up, and it’s easy to get caught up in toxic conversations and drama.
In short: It will depend on how you want to use it.
My example: I recently created a professional profile on Facebook due to my new project plan to reach a broad audience in my field. I only use it to publish work-related content. I don’t follow anyone and barely go there.
If I wanted to search for “old friends” or post personal content waiting for “likes,” I would pass hours there scrolling.
Ridiculous. If you don’t want your kids on these platforms then its your responsibility as a parent to make that happen. I hate social media trust me BUT, No one makes you do anything. That is like blaming Mcdonalds for your poor health, no one puts a gun to your head and makes you go to Mcdonalds. Life is a choice, take responsibility for your own choices. I am 5 years sober, I don’t walk around saying alcohol did this to me its bad. These parents are to blame plain and simple
I think that this has probably been mentioned somewhere else in the forum, but the book Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport discusses social media addiction and how to deal with it.
@user1 This a GREAT read. I think it should be on everyone’s reading list because it really outlines, in layman’s terms, what digital minimalism is all about. PLUS it underlines how important balance is in our noisy, overstimulated, overconnected society.
@kirkmahoneyphd I just watched this interview on Today & most of things she said were valid.
The truth is, just like with anything, it’s all about balance & responsible use. That’s why we have age restrictions on so many things. Sometimes, kids (and even sometimes young adults) are not prepared to make certain decisions. Just because something is there, doesn’t mean we have to go crazy and overindulge.
I think an important factor to consider in the discussion is the degree to which we can be responsible for ourselves.
Children for instance, will have a tendency to sit in the phone for hours on end and loose all sense of time. This can be true with young adults and even adults, I assume to a lesser degree (we do have other responsibilities we need to tend to).
Even though I agree with what cardio79 has brought up, regarding the fact that social media companies are only profit driven and create their software to be used as much as possible, I also believe that we need to be conscious enough to be able to tell ourselves (and our children) when enough is enough.
Parents are definitely responsible. Having children motivated me to examine and re-evaluate my own usage of social media. Social media IS addictive and a slippery slope, yet I find the less I use it, the less I want to use it.
I do not plan to allow my children access to social media. When they are old enough to ask, then we may discuss. My oldest is almost 12 and does not know much about social media. She spends a lot of time developing other skills hasn’t asked to have more screen time.
I highly recommend the book Glow Kids: How Screen Addiction Is Hijacking Our Kids - and How to Break the Trance by Nicholas Kardaras.