Social Media's Tragic Impact on Teens

Amid years of mounting evidence of the negative impact on teenagers, social media Goliaths continue to peddle their addictive platforms, placing profits ahead of young people's mental health.   Tech firms operate with legal impunity, ignoring the studies documenting the harm caused by social media.

At the outset, let's stipulate that social media also has positive aspects.  Platforms have facilitated communications, enabled social connections and provide access to a myriad of information and perspectives. However, tech giants have failed their responsibility to clean up the content sewage. 

Teen social media usage soars every year, turning casual usage into an addiction. A Pew Research Report shows the top social media platforms used by young people 11-to-17 years old are:  Youtube, 95%; TikTok, 67%, Instagram, 62%;  Snapchat, 59%; Facebook, 32%; and, Twitter, 23%.

A study by Jean Twenge, psychology professor at San Diego State University, discovered that students who spent five or more hours a day online were 71% more likely to have a least one suicide risk factor. Those include depression, thinking about suicide or attempting suicide.  

Research shows that the average young person spends an average of three hours a day on social media.  The study by Twenge found that the overall suicide risk factors rose "significantly after two or more hours a day of time online."  

A 2018 Children's Mental Health Report documented the negative effects of social media on  adolescents, aged 11-to-17.  Thirty-five percent of participants were classed as poor sleepers and 47% were classified as anxious.  Higher levels of anxiety correlated with increased usage.

While social media companies argue there are benefits to their platforms for teenagers, actual research underscores the dark side of social media.  A Common Sense Media survey of social media users found 70% of teens "feel left out or excluded when using social media."  

The evidence is unequivocal.  

It is no coincidence that teen suicides and depression are rocketing higher.  The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that suicides in females aged 15-24 have spiraled 87% over the past decade.  Suicides jumped 30% among males in the same age group.

Overall, 22% of high school students in a recent survey said that had seriously considered suicide; 18% admitted they had a suicide plan; and, 10% reported they had attempted suicide at least once.  Female students were at higher risk with 30% claiming they had considered attempting suicide.

Social media apologists will point out there is no direct link between suicide and social media usage.  However, a previously unpublished study from Facebook found Instagram to have harmful effects among a portion of its millions of  users, particularly teen girls.  

Findings indicated that Instagram makes body image issues worse for one in three teen girls. Among teens who reported suicidal thoughts, 6% traced them back to Instagram.  Instagram and Facebook are both owned by Meta.  

Congress has hauled the likes of Meta Chairman and CEO Mark Zuckerberg and other social media bosses to Washington for hearings. Senators and representatives pound tables, haranguing  the executives. Yet there is never any legislative action to hold social media firms accountable.

Zuckerberg hired an army of lobbyists to influence senators and representatives. Since 2017, Meta has poured $100.6 million dollars into lobbying efforts.  As added protection, Zuckerberg funneled an unprecedented $419 million into non-profits aimed out turning out Democrat voters in 2020.

Other big tech firms have parachuted into Washington, reinforcing their lobbying activities.  That's why no legislation will ever be passed to rein in Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, Snapchat or TikTok. Spreading money like fertilizer in Washington turns antagonists into allies.  

Who will make the profiteers change their algorithms that feed an addiction that is killing teenagers?

Turns out the parents of teens are the ones fighting back against steep odds.  The number of families pursuing lawsuits against social media titans has soared to more than 2,000.  Another 350 lawsuits are expected to move forward this year, according to reporting by CBS News "60 Minutes."

Kathleen and Jeff Spence, interviewed on the program, recounted a harrowing story of how their 12-year-old daughter sank into depression and developed an eating disorder after opening at Instagram account.  The teen logged on at age 11, although Instagram requires users to be 13.

The daughter searched instagram for fitness routines that sent her into the ugly underbelly of social media.  Her feed was bombarded with photos of very thin, sickly girls promoting eating disorders.Those disturbing images were delivered by Instagram's algorithms, which push content. 

Her life began a downward spiral by 12 when she began spending five hours a day scrolling through anorexic body images.  Her weight dropped and she drew a picture of herself in her diary, surrounded by her laptop while writing:"stupid, fat....kill yourself."

She began struggling with mental health, depression and her body image. "It made me hate myself," she confessed to a "60 Minutes" reporter.  Her sophomore year she posted on Instagram that she didn't deserve to exist. A friend shared her post with a school counselor who called her parents.

Her parents got help for their daughter.  But in some cases plaintiffs lost their child to suicide. The previously noted Facebook internal document reveals employees knew Instagram was pushing girls to dangerous content, the "60 Minutes" investigative reporter revealed.

If Congress won't protect vulnerable teens, then perhaps the lawsuits will finally force social media platforms to reform their algorithms, built to force feed inappropriate content to users. However, the social media platforms have buildings full of attorneys to protect their profits. 

And the parents' cause suffered a blow when the Supreme Court handed social media titans a major victory in a recent decision.  The justices unanimously rejected two cases aimed at piercing the legal shield adopted 27 years ago to protect internet companies from liability lawsuits.  

That leaves the parents' lawsuits against big tech as the last, best and likely only chance to hold social media firms accountable for their actions.  

America: A Nation Divided, Angry and Depressed

America is in turmoil.  A nation divided by politics, media, culture, regionalism, religion, celebrities, sports, race, wealth, agism and patriotism.  Many scapegoat politicians as the culprits.  But we are at war with ourselves.  The only real solution is for We The People to first change ourselves.  

It is trendy to dredge up the cliche that things have never been worse in our country.  Those who assert this hypothesis never delved into our nation's past.  America was birthed in conflict.  Our founding fathers complained bitterly about the rancor within their newly minted United States of America.

America's first President George Washington fretted about the rank partisanship in the 1790's.  It was a time of hate-filled political rhetoric.  Sound familiar? Washington blamed the malice on politicians driven by "selfish motives."  He lamented the political groups formed to spread discord and enmity.

Our second President John Adams was furious at the pamphleteers who criticized his administration.  In 1798, he signed the Alien and Sedition Act, which made it illegal to "write, print or publish any false, scandalous and malicious writings" against the president and the executive branch.

America's messy democracy with its partisan politicians and unfettered press has a long history of stirring passion, antagonism and dissension.  It is the price we pay for freedom.  What needs to change is how Americans react to politics and how we discern the truth about what is reported in the media.   

The toxicity of today's politics is as volatile as Washington's era. Partisans on all sides of the political spectrum point the finger of guilt at one of the two major parties.  However, both parties and the extremists within each, are at fault. It doesn't matter a wit which party is in control, bitterness reigns. 

If you catch yourself shaking your head in disagreement, you are frankly in denial.  In 1994, I traveled to Washington for a private conference with Oklahoma Senator David Boren.  During our meeting, he disclosed he would not seek another term.  I was stunned.  The Democrat easily could be reelected.

"Politics in Washington is no longer civil," he confided.  "At one time, Democrats and Republicans would fight like dogs in the Senate chambers over issues.  But when the session adjourned, we were still friends.  We could socialize and solve issues.  Not any more.  The level of hostility is palpable."

That meeting was more than two decades ago.  The animus has worsened.

Both parties champion compromise when they are in power.  The party out of favor resists.  The needs of ordinary Americans are no longer the priority of Washington's pampered, entitled politicians. Thousands of special interest groups, flush with money, control both parties.  Don't doubt that.

As a country founded on the principle of freedom of expression, unrestrained speech is a blessing and often a cruse. The right to voice your opinions, no matter who it offends, is guaranteed.  People are embolden to speak honestly or utter falsehoods. Today that freedom is under fierce attack.

Social media titans, including Facebook and Twitter, arbitrarily ban content their censors find objectionable. No debate is allowed on issues such as vaccination, CDC health mandates, racial issues or any controversy that the social media cabal deems contrary to the progressive narrative.   

Even worse a majority of Americans get some or all of their news from the most unreliable source on the planet: social media.  According to some reports, about a half-a-billion tweets and Snapchat photos are shared every minute.  Add Facebook in the mix, and the numbers are nearly a billion.  

People use social media to vent their anger about everything from politics to customer service.  A Pew Research Center study found social media is a "significant contributor" to users' stress.  One Austrian research study discovered Facebook users moods are lower after engaging on the platform.

The legacy media--newspapers, television networks, online news platforms--once performed a public service by sorting fact from misinformation.  Today every news source without exception is guilty of bias, political favoritism, anonymous-sourced rumors and calculated negative reporting.

Research shows this development impacts our mental health.  A study in Psychology Today reported that the steady diet of negative news interfaces with "our cognitive biases, keeping our focus on everything that's going wrong, while blinding us to all the good things around us."

This combustible environment of noxious politics and poisonous news coverage is creating a dynamic of us-versus-them.  People are sick of politics and media but continue to wallow in the negative news and political morass with insatiable appetites.  We get the media and politicians we deserve. 

Politics and news may be the main triggers of general nastiness, but there are so many other influencers eroding civility.  Take patriotism. It was once unthinkable for any American to disrespect the nation's sacred flag.  Now the symbol of freedom is labeled a dog-whistle for racism.

Our flag no longer unites us.  It segregates the country.  How did this happen?

Too many Americans take their social and moral cues from multi-millionaire athletes and celebrities.  They exert an out-sized influence on Americans with their opinions, tweets, music, movies and behavior.  These self-appointed influencers are worshiped by a culture obsessed with celebrities.

Many gliterrarti preach hatred of America, faulting white nativism and racism for the nation's friction. The vitriol seeps into our consciousness.  We become depressed, angry, tribal.  Who advocates for all humans, regardless of race, creed or religion?  In fact, doing so ends up spurring more disunity.

As if the country needed more strife, there is a growing schism between secularism and religious practice.  Elitists want church doctrine or faith principles to conform to today's political or social mores.  Churches need to change, they demand.  They dangle the threat of removing charitable status.     

Not since the Civil War, have the states been so un-united.  There are self-identified red states and blue states.  States collectively band together to fight against what they view as harmful federal legislation to their region.  Some, like California, are refusing to do business with other states. 

Throw into this incendiary recipe a measure of rural-urban division. Rural communities, the fabric of America, are some of the most harmonious places in the country.  There is a sense of shared values. Urbanites and suburbanites prize progressive ideals and mock the values in rural America.   

Sports once was America's escapism.  Everyone came together and enjoyed a football, basketball or baseball game and forgot whatever anxieties and problems existed outside the stadium. Now egocentric, powerful owners and rich, spoiled athletes are turning events into forums to air grievances.

Schools and colleges are plunging into ugly political scrapes by insisting on doctrinal changes in curriculum, outraging parents. Colleges erect so-called safe zones to protect students' sensitivities. Institutions of learning discourage debate, silence speech and insist on conformity.

In past eras, Americans regardless of political affiliation united whenever our military engaged in a conflict.  World War I and II fostered rare solidarity.  Citizens bonded to support the troops, sacrifice for the good of the nation and volunteer when called. 

Beginning with the Vietnam War and continuing with the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, public and political support for the military has flagged.  The soldiers who answered the call to duty have returned home to hostile receptions.  We blame the brave for what politicians have wrought.  

COVID is a perfect example of Americans inability to set aside political differences to rally to combat an enemy.  The pandemic was politicized by partisans. Soon people--not the virus--became the villains. Health experts berated Americans for not taking the virus seriously or refusing to wear masks.

Instead of rallying Americans to join in a common effort to defeat the virus, the tenor of the health advice dripped with contempt for those who dared to question the experts, including doctors and epidemiologists.  This tactic fueled suspion of science as well as the motives of health officials.  

Then governors stepped into the breech and created often ill-advised mandates that angered and confused ordinary folks. Guidelines changed and then contradictory protocols were issued.  Mistrust was rampant. Ugly confrontations erupted between masked and unmasked citizens.

Rudeness is at the heart of much of what ails this country.  Its symptoms are road rage, unruly airline passengers, public shouting matches, random shootings, street bullies and much more. Studies show that rudeness reacts like a contagion, spreading from person-to-person until it infects a whole nation.   

Perhaps, some readers reject this dystopian view.  However, there can be no disagreement this litany of schisms exist, triggering cynicism and general depression in our nation.  Suicides have risen sharply. More Americans suffer from clinical anxiety than ever before. Something is wrong.  Terribly wrong.

We deny it at the peril of ourselves and our nation.  At its core, this problem calls for unification of at least We The People.  We must temper our behavior, get involved, raise our voices, encourage others, search for common ground and pursue our better selves.  America will not change if we don't. 

Never underestimate the power of one American.  The course of our nation has been altered by lone voices over the centuries.  But we don't have to rely on just our own initiative.  

In closing, here are words of wisdom from Corrie ten Boom, a Dutch watchmaker who was captured and sent to a Nazi concentration camp for hiding Jews in her home and aiding their escape during World War II: 

"In you look at the world, you'll be distressed.  If you look within, you'll be depressed,  If you look at God, you'll be at rest."

Censorship: Social Media Turns Political

Social media is transforming itself into a potent political force. Giants such as Twitter, Facebook and Google are exerting more control over content, employing stealth algorithms to censor or silence conservative voices.  There is a burgeoning backlash about the firms' dominance and influence.

Once social media was dismissed as irrelevant in the political arena.  But modern political campaigns direct their messages at their mushrooming audiences.  Barrack Obama hired an entire team of social media experts.  Hillary Clinton tagged a former Google exec as her chief technology officer.

Social media no longer takes a backseat to legacy media, including television, newspapers and radio. More people turn to social media for news.  Twitter has 157 million users.  Facebook counts 2.6 billion.  Google logs 3.5 billion searches every day.  Social media owns Americans' eyeballs.

A recent Pew Research Center report found 67 percent of all Americans report they obtain at least some of their news from social media.  TV is second with 57 percent.  And it's not just young people on social media.  One-half of Americans over 50 go to social media in search of news.

The Goliaths of social media, including Twitter, Facebook and Google, have virtual monopolies in their segments. As publicly owned companies, they theoretically have every right to foist their ideologies on Americans. However, most people are unaware the content is manipulated.

For example, enterprising undercover journalists recently exposed Twitter's use of guidelines that filtered pro-Trump posts on its site.  In addition, the reporters discovered Twitter was using a technique called "shadow banning" to hide conservative content from public view.

Twitter users were never advised of the deception until news reports shined light on the practice.  Most free speech advocates believe the social media platform should have been upfront about their ideological approach.  But Twitter is not the only social sloth in the covert censorship business. 

Google employs auto-complete algorithms designed to erase certain disparaging and offensive terms from its content.  However, the company admits it's an inexact science.  Users have no idea what is being filtered and why. The search results reflect the biases of those who wrote the algorithm.

A few years ago the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) opted to drop its antitrust lawsuit against Google despite finding its search algorithm was biased.  The exhaustive probe documented the firm promoted its own services at the top of search results to the detriment of its competitors. 

Despite the mountain of evidence, Mr. Obama's FTC dismissed the lawsuit against Google.  Surely it is coincidental that Google executives, led by parent company CEO Eric Schmidt, were frequent and large donors to Mr. Obama's presidential campaigns and Democrat causes.

If Google favored its own products and services, it raises suspicions that the company also adopts the same strategy with political candidates. As an example, the firm can rig the search results to produce the most favorable stories about a candidate to appear on the first page. 

The American Institute for Behavioral Research and Technology did a study that showed the results displayed by Google influence political decisions by participants.  The research found this could tip an election by moving voters' opinions of candidates by margins ranging from 37 to 63 percent.

Another Google social media company, You Tube, has been stung with criticism too.  Media sources reported that Google had enlisted "trusted flaggers" to delete questionable video content.  It turns out one group it "entrusted" was the Southern Poverty Law Center, a controversial left-wing outfit.

SPLC promptly labeled many conservatives on YouTube as "extremists," including Dr. Ben Carson and Fox News contributors Laura Ingraham and Judge Jeanine Pirro.  However, the law center found nothing extreme about ANTIFA, a militant protest group with a record of inciting violence. 

For years Facebook has been featuring sponsored news ads in the feeds of its users.  This allowed Russian-backed firms to post fake news about Clinton and Trump on users' feeds.  Now Facebook is trying to clean up the mess it created by cracking down on deception.  But who makes that call?

A hush-hush algorithm is now trolling Facebook weeding out fake news.  Sounds like a good idea.  But the computer nerds at Facebook wrote the algorithm.  And they are mum about what kinds of items might be deemed to be inappropriate for its audience. Transparency be damned.

Why does any of this matter?  The answer is that every political campaign now uses social media to raise funds, hold virtual campaign rallies, advertise the candidates, organize volunteers and motivate voters.  It is a paradigm shift from legacy media to social media as the top election influencer.

But if that's the case, is that a good thing for America?

That question has yet to be answered.  If monopolistic social media behemoths decide to back a single candidate or ideology by censoring information, does that give voters a fair opportunity to make informed political decisions?  Americans need to start worrying about the answer.