Will Kids Online, In Fact, Be All Right?

2024/11/21

Critics at Large | The New Yorker

People

Alexandra Schwartz

Jack Schwartz

Keyshawn

Naomi Fry

Sydney

Vincent Cunningham

Topics

Naomi Fry: 本纪录片探讨了洛杉矶青少年在后疫情时代的生活，以及社交媒体对他们世界观和生活方式的深远影响。青少年们虽然意识到社交媒体的负面影响，例如网络霸凌和成瘾，但他们难以摆脱社交媒体对社会生活的支配作用，因为社交媒体已经成为他们社会生活的主要场所。 Naomi Fry: 青少年时期是一个充满脆弱和社会压力的阶段，而社交媒体的出现加剧了这种压力，使得青少年难以‘退出’困境，因为这会威胁到他们的社交地位。 Naomi Fry: 青少年时期是一个充满脆弱和社会压力的阶段，而社交媒体的出现加剧了这种压力，使得青少年难以‘退出’困境，因为这会威胁到他们的社交地位。 Naomi Fry: 这部纪录片关注的是青少年时期面临的脆弱和社会压力，以及这种压力与社会环境的冲突。 Naomi Fry: 这部纪录片延续了作者之前作品的主题，关注的是人们对奢华和表面的追求以及由此带来的复杂性。社交媒体加剧了青少年之间的竞争，并促使他们更注重外在形象而非内在发展。社交媒体的运作模式是资本驱动的，青少年既是消费者也是受害者。 Naomi Fry: 目前已有研究表明社交媒体对青少年心理健康造成了负面影响，例如焦虑和抑郁的增加。研究数据显示，青少年的自杀率和抑郁症发病率都在上升，许多人认为社交媒体是罪魁祸首。青少年们也意识到社交媒体的负面影响，但他们感到难以摆脱。乔纳森·海特在《焦虑的一代》一书中指出，过度保护和网络世界的缺乏保护共同导致了青少年心理疾病的增加。 Naomi Fry: 加利福尼亚州出台了一些法规，旨在限制青少年使用社交媒体。加利福尼亚州的一项新法律将禁止社交媒体公司在学校时间或深夜向青少年发送提醒。 Naomi Fry: 解决青少年社交媒体问题需要多方面努力，包括设置合理的限制和引导青少年寻找其他兴趣爱好。青少年最看重的是独立性和自主性，而社交媒体往往会剥夺他们的自主性。建立独立自主的群体和社群是青少年获得自由和独立的重要途径。与他人一起参与活动和建立社群是青少年对抗社交媒体控制的一种方式。 Naomi Fry: 社会联系的缺失是一个长期存在的问题，这在罗伯特·帕特南的《独自打保龄》一书中也有所体现。青少年容易受到网络上不良信息的影响，例如来自Andrew Tate等人的有害言论。Andrew Tate等人的言论对青少年，特别是男性青少年，造成了负面影响。 Vincent Cunningham: 这部纪录片既展现了社交媒体对青少年的负面影响，也反映了人们长期以来对青少年行为的担忧。对青少年社交媒体使用的担忧，一部分源于历代对年轻一代的普遍焦虑，但另一方面，现在的青少年正在适应现代历史上最大规模的技术变革之一。 Vincent Cunningham: 道德恐慌有时比青少年行为本身更成问题，对青少年行为的过度反应可能造成更大的负面影响。 Vincent Cunningham: 我们需要重建社会组织，以弥补社交媒体带来的社会联系的缺失。 Vincent Cunningham: 歌德的《少年维特之烦恼》曾引发了道德恐慌，人们担心书中主人公的举动会影响到年轻人。《少年维特之烦恼》的流行引发了模仿行为，人们对青年自杀的担忧加剧了道德恐慌。 Vincent Cunningham: 我们应该关注的是社交媒体公司，而不是青少年自身。 Vincent Cunningham: 社交媒体带来的孤独感不仅仅是社交媒体本身造成的，还与社会整体的孤独感有关。 Alexandra Schwartz: 纪录片《社会研究》中，青少年们展现了对自身生活的深刻思考，并真实地展现了他们的生活状态。社交媒体让青少年难以‘退出’困境，因为这会威胁到他们的社交地位。 Alexandra Schwartz: 纪录片中的青少年既成熟又天真，他们能够清晰地表达自己面临的困境，同时也展现出青少年的天真一面。纪录片中的人物Sydney一开始看似不成熟，但后来展现出更成熟和反思的一面。 Alexandra Schwartz: 纪录片中的人物Jack代表了一种利用社交媒体获利的一种模式。 Alexandra Schwartz: 在青少年时期，音乐曾是引发道德恐慌的焦点之一，例如对说唱音乐和Marilyn Manson的争议。 Alexandra Schwartz: 父母的行为也会对青少年产生影响，父母过度依赖手机可能会让青少年觉得这种行为很‘老土’。 Alexandra Schwartz: 青少年需要有空间和机会重新塑造自我。 Sydney: 青少年在社交媒体上追求完美形象，并试图通过各种方式获得关注。 Jack Schwartz: Jack利用社交媒体展示奢侈品，并以此获得关注和盈利。 Keyshawn: Keyshawn的经历说明了青少年在缺乏其他兴趣爱好时更容易沉迷于社交媒体。

Deep Dive

Key Insights

Why is social media use among teens a cause for concern?

Research shows a strong correlation between screen time and spikes in depression, loneliness, and suicide among teens. Social media platforms exploit young people's vulnerability for profit, leading to mental health crises.

How does 'Social Studies' portray the relationship between teens and social media?

The documentary highlights the inescapability of social media for teens, who are aware of its dangers but feel unable to quit due to its role in their social lives. It shows teens grappling with the tension between criticism of the platforms and their dependence on them.

What historical parallels does the podcast draw to the current social media panic?

The podcast compares the current social media panic to historical moral panics, such as the satanic panic surrounding Marilyn Manson or the comic book craze of the 1950s, where societal fears about youth culture were amplified.

What are the key findings from research on social media's impact on teen mental health?

Studies show a 62% rise in suicide rates among Americans aged 10-24 between 2007 and 2021, with one in three teenage girls considering suicide in 2021. Depression rates have also spiked, with 53% of Americans blaming social media for these trends.

How does the documentary 'Social Studies' depict the economic exploitation of teens by social media?

The documentary shows teens like Jack, who uses social media to profit, but also highlights how platforms like TikTok and Instagram monetize teen behavior, creating a cycle of dependency and exploitation.

What solutions are proposed to address the social media crisis among teens?

Proposed solutions include legislation like the Phone Free Schools Act, which limits phone use in schools, and recommendations such as no smartphones before high school and no social media before 16. The focus is on creating legal guardrails and rebuilding community spaces.

How does the podcast frame the role of social media in teen identity formation?

The podcast argues that social media has become central to teen identity, with many feeling they cannot build an identity without it. However, it also highlights the pressure to conform to online expectations, which can stifle creativity and individuality.

What does the documentary reveal about the loneliness faced by teens in the digital age?

The documentary portrays a world where teens are increasingly isolated, with social media often replacing real-world connections. It suggests that the lack of community spaces and activities outside of digital platforms contributes to this loneliness.

How does the podcast address the role of corporations in the social media crisis?

The podcast emphasizes that social media companies like Meta and TikTok exploit teen vulnerability for profit, creating addictive platforms that harm mental health. It calls for holding these corporations accountable rather than blaming teens.

What historical example does the podcast use to illustrate the dangers of societal panic over youth culture?

The podcast references the moral panic surrounding Goethe's 'The Sorrows of Young Werther,' where young men dressed in the protagonist's distinctive clothing were seen as suicide risks, highlighting how societal reactions can sometimes be more harmful than the issue itself.

Shownotes Transcript

In her new FX docuseries “Social Studies,” the artist and filmmaker Lauren Greenfield delves into the post-pandemic lives—and phones—of a group of L.A. teens. Screen recordings of the kids’ social-media use reveal how these platforms have reshaped their experience of the world in alarming ways. On this episode of Critics at Large, Vinson Cunningham, Naomi Fry, and Alexandra Schwartz discuss how the show paints a vivid, empathetic portrait of modern adolescence while also tapping into the long tradition of fretting about what the youths of the day are up to. The hosts consider moral panics throughout history, from the 1971 book “Go Ask Alice,” which was first marketed as the true story of a drug-addicted girl’s downfall in a bid to scare kids straight, to the hand-wringing that surrounded trends like rock and roll and the postwar comic-book craze. Anxieties around social-media use, by contrast, are warranted. Mounting research shows how screen time correlates with spikes in depression, loneliness, and suicide among teens. It’s a problem that has come to define all our lives, not just those of the youth. “This whole crust of society—people joining trade unions and other kinds of things, lodges and guilds, having hobbies,” Cunningham says, “that layer of society is shrinking. And parallel to our crusade against the ills of social media is, how do we rebuild that sector of society?”

Read, watch, and listen with the critics:

“Social Studies” (2024)“Into the Phones of Teens),” by Naomi Fry (The New Yorker)“Generation Wealth” (2018)Marilyn Manson“Reviving Ophelia),” by Mary Pipher“Go Ask Alice),” by Beatrice Sparks“Forrest Gump” (1994)“The Rules of Attraction),” by Bret Easton Ellis“Less Than Zero,” by Bret Easton Ellis“The Sorrows of Young Werther),” by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe“Seduction of the Innocent),” by Fredric Wertham“Has Social Media Fuelled a Teen-Suicide Crisis?),” by Andrew Solomon (The New Yorker)“The Anxious Generation),” by Jonathan Haidt“Bowling Alone),” by Robert D. Putnam

New episodes drop every Thursday. Follow Critics at Large wherever you get your podcasts).

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