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.
They mean even less if a causal link isn’t established, or even if there is a link but the issue is better explained by other factors. There are many signs people use social media to compensate for something missing in their lives (such as lack of connection, inability to find like-minded people close by, etc.), but no proof I’ve yet heard of that it’s the root cause of unhappiness. The closest to that is maybe people falling into maladaptive patterns of seeking content that would enrage or depress them, but I imagine at least as often it’s going to be people using it as an escape from a difficult reality. We should be discussing why reality is so difficult to manage and in more extreme cases, why talking about mental health issues is so scary that so many people need to escape via alcohol, drugs, screen time, etc.
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.
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.
They mean even less if a causal link isn’t established, or even if there is a link but the issue is better explained by other factors. There are many signs people use social media to compensate for something missing in their lives (such as lack of connection, inability to find like-minded people close by, etc.), but no proof I’ve yet heard of that it’s the root cause of unhappiness. The closest to that is maybe people falling into maladaptive patterns of seeking content that would enrage or depress them, but I imagine at least as often it’s going to be people using it as an escape from a difficult reality. We should be discussing why reality is so difficult to manage and in more extreme cases, why talking about mental health issues is so scary that so many people need to escape via alcohol, drugs, screen time, etc.
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.