does generation z regret using social media?
2024-09-21
한어Русский языкEnglishFrançaisIndonesianSanskrit日本語DeutschPortuguêsΕλληνικάespañolItalianoSuomalainenLatina
the new york times, september 17, original title: regretful generation z is social media a good invention? one way to measure the value of a product is to count how many people wish it had never existed. cigarettes, gambling, etc., those addictive things, although they can bring temporary pleasure, also leave people with endless regrets.
social media is expanding at an unprecedented rate
it is rare for non-addictive products to generate such a love-hate relationship. if you really don't like it, just don't use it. but what about social media? their market is expanding at an unprecedented rate. from early chat rooms to the popular facebook, as of 2020, more than half of the world's population use social media. even if people hate social media, they often find it difficult to avoid it. after all, once they give up, it means a complete disconnection from information, which is especially unbearable for teenagers - almost all american teenagers are heavy users of social media, with an average daily usage time of more than 5 hours.
how does generation z view social media? do they think it is like cigarettes, which make 71% of smokers regret while puffing? recently, researchers conducted a study on 1,006 generation z (born between 1997 and 2012) across the united states to understand their use of social media. first of all, the average daily use time of social media is astonishing. overall, more than 60% of respondents use it for at least 4 hours a day, and 23% use it for more than 7 hours a day. secondly, 60% of respondents believe that social media has a negative impact on society, and another 32% have completely different opinions. 52% of respondents said that social media has helped them, and 29% believed that it has harmed their own interests. however, the situation is different for women and minority groups. among the 37% of users who believe that social media has a negative impact, women account for a higher proportion than men, and minorities account for a higher proportion than the rest. a large number of studies have shown that social media is more harmful to young people in vulnerable groups.
survey: half of people wish x had never happened
although more people believe that social media has more advantages than disadvantages, we cannot ignore the harm it has brought to millions of teenagers as a consumer product. it not only causes phobias and social comparisons, but is also a hotbed for insomnia, depression, anxiety, suicide, anorexia, sexual harassment, etc. any other product, once it can cause serious harm to more than 10% of teenagers, will face a series of government bans, but social media can always "survive".
the last question is whether users wish that social platforms and products "had never appeared". there are five products with relatively low proportions: youtube (15%), netflix (17%), the internet (17%), communication software (19%) and smartphones (21%). it can be seen that generation z has a more positive attitude towards the basic communication, narrative and information retrieval functions of the internet. if smartphones only allow people to send messages to each other, watch movies, and search for practical information or interesting videos, and no longer use recommendation algorithms to make users addicted to mobile phones, then generation z may not have so many regrets. but people's attitudes are very different for the major social platforms that most worry parents and children. many users hope that such products have never appeared: instagram (34%), facebook (37%), snapchat (43%), and the biggest disaster area x (50%).
downplaying the addictive nature of social media
research shows that generation z is aware of the ongoing risks and costs of social media, and most of them want to use better and safer platforms; many believe that social media platforms are not suitable for teenagers. 45% of generation z said that they "would not let their children have mobile phones before high school"; 57% believed that parents should limit their children's mobile phone use before then. although only 36% of respondents opposed the law prohibiting children under the age of 16 from using social media, 69% supported the passage of laws to force social media companies to develop youth modes specifically for minors.
this broad resonance across race, gender, and social class is of great significance to the u.s. house of representatives, which is considering drafting the "children's internet safety act" to force social media to downplay addictive features, require companies to provide teenagers with content that is not pushed based on personalized algorithms, and provide default safety access options for young users.
it is true that as a communication platform, social media must comply with the requirements of the first amendment, and the house of representatives plans to ensure this by paying attention to the content recommended to teenagers by algorithms. but imagine how terrible it would be if more than a third of young people wished that social media had never existed, but couldn't help using it for 5 hours a day? if this is the case, we will take action to make producers ensure that their products are safer and less addictive. social media companies should also be treated the same: if they cannot ensure the safety of teenagers by optimizing their products, they should ban teenagers from using them. (author jonathan haidt & will johnson, translated by wei mou)▲
