There is no evidence that using social media is driving an epidemic of mental illness and blaming it can distract from effectively responding to the real causes
and rising hysteria could distract us from tackling the real causes.” — https://www.nature.com/... [image] Philip N Cohen / @philipncohen@mastodon.social : “the book's repeated suggestion that digital technologies are rewiring our children's brains and causing an epidemic of mental illness is not supported by science.” https://www.nature.com/... Omar Wasow / @owasow@mastodon.social : “The plots presented throughout this book will be useful in teaching my students the fundamentals of causal inference, and how to avoid making up stories by simply looking at trend lines.” https://www.nature.com/... Chris Simpson / @chris_e_simpson@hachyderm.io : Damning review of Jonathan Haidt's book that blames social media for the rise in teen anxiety and depression — Candice L. Odgers argues that correlation does not imply causation, that there is no evidence for a causal connection, and that focusing on this will detract from clearly identifying and dealing with the actual causes … Bluesky: BabyBoomerWriter / @babyboomerwriter.bsky.social : Socialization opportunities were limited by the restrictive, low stimulation lifestyle we all had to accept to safely get thru COVID. Adolescence is a major developmental stage where teens build friendships, add socialization skills, & practice independence. Teens didn't know we were all struggling. Janet Yaw / @janety.bsky.social : Completely disagree. [embedded post] X: @basedbeffjezos : It's Decel mindset, not social media itself, that is the problem. The cultural software, not the interconnect infrastructure. The solution is to use social media to spread optimism. Louis Anslow / @louisanslow : Nature goes in on ‘The Anxious Generation’ for its scientific populism. https://www.nature.com/... [image] @jeffjarvis : Thank you, @candice_odgers, for your review of Haidt's latest. In an entire book (and I have one coming out partially in response to him), I do not do as well as you did here. “Serious claims require serious evidence,” indeed. https://www.nature.com/... Rory Cellan-Jones / @ruskin147 : https://www.nature.com/... The hot new book saying smartphones and social media are warping our kids' minds will sell like hot cakes because it speaks to parents' worries - but it's bad science says this review “telling stories that are unsupported by research”. LinkedIn: Siva Vaidhyanathan : No one will be able to take Jonathan Haidt's new book seriously after reading this review by an actual researcher and expert in the field. … Stephen Schueller : I don't think technology will solve all of our problems, and I'd be naive to think it doesn't cause some, but we need to have hard conversations … Candice Odgers : It may be time to rethink how we support young people online and offline versus simply shut off their social media. … Forums: r/IfBooksCouldKill : A great critique from Nature of Jonathan Haidt's anti-smartphone grift
Note to Joe Scarborough, @arimelber, @chrislhayes. and others who consider having Haidt on your shows. Please read this review first. Instead, you might want to ask @profodgers or other scholars she cites as they have done actual research. https://www.nature.com/...
“Hundreds of researchers, myself included, have searched for the kind of large effects suggested by Haidt. Our efforts have produced a mix of no, small and mixed associations. Most data are correlative. …
There's a pervasive belief that “we know” social media is bad for young people, but when you listen to researchers as a whole, there's just not enough evidence for a blanket statement like this.
Because privileged media men love the bullshit people like Haidt are selling. The media has been integral in sowing moral panic about kids and technology since the dawn of tech unfortunately
Imagine if editors at @atlantic ever ran @jonathanhaidt work by actual social media researchers. They might have avoided the embarrassment of publishing it.
I posted this under another thread, but it is relevant here: Haidt might want to reference a history book in addition to the cherry-picked studies he cites. Throughout MOST of human history, children have faced extreme hardships such as famine, disease, war, high mortality rates…
“The evidence is equivocal on whether screen time is to blame for rising levels of teen depression and anxiety — and rising hysteria could distract us from tackling the real causes.” — https://www.nature.com/... [image]
“the book's repeated suggestion that digital technologies are rewiring our children's brains and causing an epidemic of mental illness is not supported by science.” https://www.nature.com/...
“The plots presented throughout this book will be useful in teaching my students the fundamentals of causal inference, and how to avoid making up stories by simply looking at trend lines.” https://www.nature.com/...
Socialization opportunities were limited by the restrictive, low stimulation lifestyle we all had to accept to safely get thru COVID. Adolescence is a major developmental stage where teens build friendships, add socialization skills, & practice independence. Teens didn't know w…
It's Decel mindset, not social media itself, that is the problem. The cultural software, not the interconnect infrastructure. The solution is to use social media to spread optimism.
Thank you, @candice_odgers, for your review of Haidt's latest. In an entire book (and I have one coming out partially in response to him), I do not do as well as you did here. “Serious claims require serious evidence,” indeed. https://www.nature.com/...
https://www.nature.com/... The hot new book saying smartphones and social media are warping our kids' minds will sell like hot cakes because it speaks to parents' worries - but it's bad science says this review “telling stories that are unsupported by research”.