@caseynewton Which would be what I focused on in my Master’s. Unfortunately what I see is a lot of people rushing to shoot the messenger without considering the message.

I was a teen in the ’80s, an era of elevated youth suicides. It wasn’t television or telephones or even heavy metal music that drove them. It was living under the cloud of an existential threat of instant nuclear annihilation.

I haven’t read the SG Advisory yet, but when I see people like Jean Twenge claim they’ve examined the data and can’t see any possible reason for the current mental health crisis other than social media, I see people saying that they don’t think Climate Change is an issue, or Western countries’ adventures in the Middle East is an issue, or the disturbing rise of fascist ideas is an issue, or declining prospects for social and economic mobility is an issue, or the ongoing hot war in Europe is an issue…

My kid is about to turn 21. What he and all his friends make clear is that the problem is no one is listening to them about what the problems are. Blaming social media instead of fixing the issues that get talked about on social media is just asking them to be docile and accepting.

@theotherbrook

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