Can we do a similar survey, but only with young people who don’t consume social media all day?
We may not be able to control external forces that could make us unhappy, but we have 100% control over the digital garbage that we know leads to unhappiness.
From other news sources, I gather that “young” in this case means ~30, not teens. That is, people who are out of school, have jobs, and many of whom are at least considering things like home ownership and having kids.
In 2018, Stats Canada reported “regular social media use” to be over 90% for age groups between 15 and up to the mid-30s. Ages 30-34 apparently use three or more social media platforms.
This could be different in 2024, but considering how social media platforms, including newer ones like TikTok, have exploded, I’m not sure that the usage dropped.
These numbers also mean very little without usage time. There is a big diference between 15 minutes of social media a day and 4 hours of social media a day.
There is a big diference between 15 minutes of social media a day and 4 hours of social media a day.
The average daily use in Canada is 2 hours, with variations on how often people are actually being pinged or checking social media.
The more it’s used, the higher the anxiety, stress, sleep quality, and happiness are affected, but these negative effects are felt for the majority of social media users, regardless of use time.
I’d also argue that FOMO contributes to just as much harm to mental health as active use of those platforms.
I am not struggling because of social media, I am struggling because I’d damn near need to be a millionaire to own a home. I am struggling because of stagnant wages. I am struggling because grocceries costs and rent keep increasing.
I won’t lie, the digitalization of social relationships has had an impact, but they are far from the only issue. I could even argue that more young people could be more in person social if it were cheaper to go out to eat/recreate or if we didn’t have to work as many hours to cover the cost of living.
Studies already show that social media use is a major factor in people’s stress and unhappiness. So why not adjust the survey to take that into account?
The results may still be the same, but at least you’d know whether it’s a contributing factor.
Can we do a similar survey, but only with young people who don’t consume social media all day?
We may not be able to control external forces that could make us unhappy, but we have 100% control over the digital garbage that we know leads to unhappiness.
From other news sources, I gather that “young” in this case means ~30, not teens. That is, people who are out of school, have jobs, and many of whom are at least considering things like home ownership and having kids.
Wouldn’t make a difference in the context.
In 2018, Stats Canada reported “regular social media use” to be over 90% for age groups between 15 and up to the mid-30s. Ages 30-34 apparently use three or more social media platforms.
This could be different in 2024, but considering how social media platforms, including newer ones like TikTok, have exploded, I’m not sure that the usage dropped.
These numbers also mean very little without usage time. There is a big diference between 15 minutes of social media a day and 4 hours of social media a day.
The average daily use in Canada is 2 hours, with variations on how often people are actually being pinged or checking social media.
The more it’s used, the higher the anxiety, stress, sleep quality, and happiness are affected, but these negative effects are felt for the majority of social media users, regardless of use time.
I’d also argue that FOMO contributes to just as much harm to mental health as active use of those platforms.
I am not struggling because of social media, I am struggling because I’d damn near need to be a millionaire to own a home. I am struggling because of stagnant wages. I am struggling because grocceries costs and rent keep increasing.
I won’t lie, the digitalization of social relationships has had an impact, but they are far from the only issue. I could even argue that more young people could be more in person social if it were cheaper to go out to eat/recreate or if we didn’t have to work as many hours to cover the cost of living.
Of course, it’s not a one-factor issue.
And I agree that struggling to eat, find shelter, and to make a decent living are certainly factors that can contribute to unhappiness.
But since we know that social media use is a major factor for unhappiness and stress, we’d probably want to account for that in any study or survey.
So are you saying ignorance is bliss, or that the problems don’t actually exist?
What a dumb comment.
Studies already show that social media use is a major factor in people’s stress and unhappiness. So why not adjust the survey to take that into account?
The results may still be the same, but at least you’d know whether it’s a contributing factor.