Is technology *really* ruining your life? The Rise of Pop Psychology and the Social Media Debate

From the earliest days of the internet and smartphones, the technology and social media debate hasn’t really been so much of a debate, but rather a general consensus, that consensus being - technology and social media are ‘ruining our lives’. They’re making us depressed, anxious, less productive, and more isolated.

Not to mention the disastrous effects on children who’ve grown up with access to the internet and tablets all of their lives - Would someone please think of the children!?

And the fact that the debate around the use of social media isn’t so much of a debate, but rather an agreed upon ‘right take’ had me thinking, why is this and is it backed up by psychologists, pediatricians, and other healthcare professionals, and what I found out was that it’s just too early to create a causal link between our unhappiness and worse mental state to the use of social media and smart devices.

But why then is there so much fear and guilt around the use of social media platforms, cellular devices, and other forms of technology? Well, in my opinion, there are a few reasons which I go in depth into in this video.

This video is meant to be more broad rather than focusing on more specific issues of social media use, and meant to be a jumping off point by bringing in real studies and facts, rather than just promoting non-accredited psychologists that are all too ready to make us feel bad and guilty about ourselves for the sake of self promotion and profit.

Hope you enjoy and thanks for stopping by :)

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TIMESTAMPS:
Intro and Disclaimer 0:00
Part 1: Beware of Pop Psychology 0:59
Part 2: The ‘Facebook Depression’ Panic of 2011 7:33
Part 3: 2016, Backpedaling, and New Findings 13:23
Part 4: Deconstructing an Anti-Zillennial Manifesto 20:15
Part 5: What about the parents? - The 2017 Rebuttal 31:22
Part 6: Now what? Present Day Fears, Guilt, and Solutions 34:13

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Sources and further reading A-Z:

HAVE SMARTPHONES DESTROYED A GENERATION? (2017)
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2017/09/has-the-smartphone-destroyed-a-generation/534198/

Look Up by Gary Turk (2014)

Media Use in School-Aged Children and Adolescents (2016)
https://publications.aap.org/pediatrics/article/138/5/e20162592/60321/Media-Use-in-School-Aged-Children-and-Adolescents

Panicking About Your Kids’ Phones? New Research Says Don’t (2020)
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/17/technology/kids-smartphones-depression.html#:~:text=Children%20who%20are%20on%20their,children%20with%20mental%20health%20issues.

The Impact of Social Media on Children, Adolescents, and Families (2011)
https://publications.aap.org/pediatrics/article/127/4/800/65133/The-Impact-of-Social-Media-on-Children-Adolescent

The Social Dilemma (Netflix - 2020)

What’s The Real Cost Of Child Care In America?
https://youtu.be/GQuf7UAbf4s

Yes, Smartphones Are Destroying a Generation, But Not of Kids (2017) - a response to The Atlantic article
https://daily.jstor.org/yes-smartphones-are-destroying-a-generation-but-not-of-kids/

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Music used in order they appear (all from the YouTube Audio Library):

Godmode | Wehrmut
https://youtu.be/MNp03hBMvJs

Smooth and Cool | Nico Staf
https://youtu.be/mdrKkx7ATl0

Rescate | Mike Relm
https://youtu.be/sO_cPowOpYk

Unrest | ELPHNT
https://youtu.be/u_ASrcWOFDc

Видео Is technology *really* ruining your life? The Rise of Pop Psychology and the Social Media Debate канала Cheyenne Lin