TikTok: How social media is affecting young people’s mental health

In America Public schools Washington sued against Meta, Snapchat, YouTube and TikTok Blaming it as “harmful” to young people’s mental health. At the same time, the President of the country, Joe Biden, He urged Democrats and Republicans to “unite against the abuses” of data processing and big technology that can create drugs.

The type of content that social networks generate, the time it is consumed, the challenges promoted there, and with whom, again put the debate on the role of social networks in the health of minors on a panorama table. They join.

“Suicides, attempted suicides, and visits to mental health emergency departments are not random,” the academics said in the lawsuit.

These applications “play an important role” due to a situation that existed before the epidemic and the emergence of these diseases among young people.

At the same time, they also confirm the organizations they have Profit motive And they’re interested in keeping users engaged longer because they can sell “more ads.”

An argument using BidenHe believes that “social networks should be held accountable for their experimentation with our children for profit,” taking into account the amount of data they collect and the incentive for minors to continue viewing content.

This may interest you: Joe Biden urged Democrats and Republicans to “unite against the abuses” of Big Tech

Anxiety, depression and stress are diseases that have affected millions of people around the world in recent years. OMS One in eight people suffer from this type of disorder.

The origin of the development of symptoms in each person can be very different and usually they are a combination of several factors, the psychologist assures. FitPlyMid CruiseAnd “social networks alone can lead to the emergence of signs and symptoms associated with these diseases.”

But according to Cruz, the following are the points that lead these sites to suffer from these disorders:

– Comparison with friends and public figures

“Compare yourself to others, the places they travel, the clothes they wear, and their physical appearance. This causes young people to not believe they are enjoying their lives like others their age, develop low self-esteem and a false perception of their body image, and become obsessed with the need to look like others in their social networks.

– The time they spend on applications

“Spending more than two hours on them can negatively affect mental health, including the link between excessive use of mobile phones and time spent on social networks and sleep quality in young people.”

– Cyberbullying

“Networks are used as a means to disseminate messages, images, videos and other virtual content that threaten, ridicule, threaten or embarrass a person (or group of people). Among the consequences of cyberbullying are the potential for abuse of harmful substances, absenteeism and/or fear of school, mental There are also feelings of stress, anger and frustration, irritability, sleep disorders, learning difficulties and suicidal thoughts.

The protection of minors is a subject of long debate, in which there are always indications that each side is looking for a culprit. However, responsibility is shared.

Cruz clarifies that both parents and schools should work with minors to learn the processes so that they know how to use social networks and how to handle the content they consume there.

“Young people are often exposed to fake news, low-value content created by influencers that goes against values, inappropriate behavior, normalizes violent behavior and/or exposes and promotes private life,” he said.

For this, it is necessary to encourage critical thinking and responsible use of these platforms at home and in schools, not just leaving the restrictions of content in the hands of networks.

“It is important to discuss the importance of privacy as a family and to discuss the importance of privacy with children, ignoring the other aspects discussed earlier,” the psychologist said.

On the app side, there is also a need to improve security settings to prevent access by under 14s, as many have this as a minimum age, but it is easy to circumvent.

“A study conducted last year found that in countries with privacy laws, sites implemented better mechanisms to protect their teens’ information. But in places like Colombia, where there is no specific law, these same sites did not develop existing mechanisms,” he said. Judy BenowitzHead of the Seguro Viguías Internet Center Red papas.

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