New York City last week designated social media as a public health hazard, as a result of the impact it has had on youth mental health.
To quote NYC Mayor Eric Adams in his annual State of the City address, “Companies like TikTok, YouTube, Facebook are fuelling a mental health crisis by designing their platforms with addictive and dangerous features…Just as the [US] Surgeon General did with tobacco and guns, we are treating social media like other public health hazards, and it must stop.”
This has resulted in the New York City Health Commission issuing a health advisory on social media, which outlined, among other things, the deteriorating state of youth mental health in the city, while offering guidance on encouraging healthy social media use.
According to research in NYC, the Washington Post stated that: between 2011 and 2021, rates of high schoolers in the city experiencing hopelessness increased by more than 42 per cent, and rates of suicidal ideation increased by more than 34 per cent.
NYC is now the first major city in the United States to take such a major step.
Social media is a world within a world, and for those who were born in the 21st Century, technology is only but a natural phenomenon. Cell phones, iPods and video games are practically inevitable for teens and young adults. Along with these technologies come social media networking, which is part of the daily routine for many. Social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter and MySpace, Instagram and TikTok have millions of visitors daily.
Facebook alone has over 1 billion users, which makes it the most popular social network website on planet Earth. Research conducted by Facebook shows that 50 per cent of its users are active users, who log on daily and spend over two billion minutes per month on the site. There is no doubt that social media and social networking are here to stay; however, added to these ‘natural’ luxuries are risks and dangers.
As we have said before: that, like driving, the users of social media should be cognisant of the five Cs – caution, care, common sense, courtesy and consideration – as many of the things posted can arise in the future to haunt thrones and depraved behaviour.
Here, in Guyana, while the scenario has been slightly different from NYC, it has been observed overtime that a number of young people misuse the platform by posting about relationships and jobs, share pornography, and, in many cases, they use it to bully others. Common sense – one of the 5 Cs – would inform that such information is personal, and should not be posted on a social network, as such behaviours can stymie their personal growth.
In addition, recently, young adults and activists used the platforms to attack officials and the general public. While the information posted can cause harm to those who are being targeted, the account holders should, at some point in time, be held accountable. These, however, come with consequences. Interestingly, many young persons do not take into account or acknowledge the dangers of such postings on social networking sites, since to them all the social sites seem innocent.
Recent research has shown one of the greatest impacts of social networking is on the social skills of people. According to a BBC report, while, on the one hand, social networking sites seem to bring people together and connected; on the other hand, it creates social isolation. Research has shown that older generations of networkers learnt how to communicate and interact long before networking was even a thought, but many of the younger generations do not interact socially.
According to the report, social networking has created a serious breach in the ability of young people to communicate and interact with each other.
It is clear there is evidence suggesting that social networking can be risky to a dangerous extent, but it is an area that cannot be ignored, as it is the driving force of the world today. Like the many pleasures of life, social networking can be beneficial in moderation; however, unfortunately, moderation and the social media world do not coincide in society.
As such, all one can hope for is that our youth and young adults have a deeper understanding and be conscious of the effects of social media and its impact on the lives of others.
