The negative impact of social media on the mental health of young people is much greater than we thought. This is what psychologist Jonathan Haidt says in his book ‘Generation Anxiety Disorder’. Since the introduction of social media, young people have become more anxious and depressed, according to Haidt. Are social media really that harmful?
What do you think?
Can you live without social media?
number of responses: 18
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This is the situation
All addicted to social media
You scroll through Instagram, Facebook or TikTok and when you put your phone away, you wonder where the time went. It turns out that we spend more time on social media than we want and it doesn’t always make us happy. Young people in particular suffer from the negative consequences of social media. Hoeveel tijd besteden we aan social media?
Nederlanders gebruiken social media gemiddeld bijna twee uur per dag. Nederlandse tieners zitten gemiddeld drie uur per dag op social media.
Research shows that more than four million Dutch people are dissatisfied with their social media use. In addition, 2.2 million people indicate that they feel less happy due to the use of social media. 6.3 million Dutch people think that social media pose a danger to our mental well-being.
The researchers also see a strong link between intensive use of social media and less happiness with social media. And something stands out: “The younger generations (Gen-Z and Millennials) spend a lot of time on it, but are also relatively the ones who are less happy about it.” Waar kunnen jongeren last van hebben door social media?
- An uneasy feeling due to social pressure, social control and FOMO (fear of missing out)
- Worrying about (negative) reactions and social status on social media
- Problematic social media use is related to lower life satisfaction, poorer sleep, poorer school performance and pain in the wrist, thumb and neck
- Structural online bullying, almost 2% of secondary school students indicate that they are victims of this
Source: TeamAlert
Generatie angststoornis
This is also the message of the American psychologist Jonathan Haidt. In his book The Anxious Generation (Generation Anxiety Disorder), he states that young people are more anxious and depressed than the generations before them and that this is related to the introduction of the smartphone and social media. 1 op de 3 jongeren heeft last van psychische problemen
And research by the Trimbos Institute shows that social media is one of the causes of mental problems. The percentage of young people who intensively use social media has increased significantly compared to 2017. The project leader of the Trimbos study says that an increase in intensive social media use in the longer term leads to an increase in problematic social media use among some young people and thus to an increase in mental problems.
According to him, today’s young people are in a mental health crisis. That crisis started, according to Haidt, when more and more young people had access to a smartphone. Some of the problems caused by the smartphone: less sleep, less focus, less real personal contact, increased loneliness and lower self-esteem.
What do you think?
Knowledge question: on which social medium (apart from WhatsApp) do young people spend the most time?
number of responses: 10
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The correct answer can be found at the bottom of this article.
This is the discussion
How harmful is social media for young people?
When psychiatrist Esther van Fenema read Jonathan Haidt’s book, she thought: if only we as a society had received this book ten years earlier. She sees a striking number of young people in her practice who are having a hard time, she says The Incredible Podcast (E.O.).
“Het valt ons als psychiaters op dat we heel vaak te maken hebben met jongeren die in de problemen zitten en dat zijn jongeren met een geboortejaar rond 2000. Dat zien we niet alleen bij de crisisdienst. Maar dat zie je ook in studentenkringen. Iedereen kent wel iemand die psychisch aan de grond zit. Dat valt mij en collega’s absoluut op. Ik zie heel veel angst, depressie, suïcidaliteit, leegte, onzekerheid en verlatenheid. Veel jongeren missen geborgenheid, ergens bijhoren. Het lijkt een beetje een ronddolende generatie.”
Why are social media harmful?
According to Jonathan Haidt, the reason for the increase in mental problems among young people is the smartphone. The generation born around 2000 is the first generation to grow up with a smartphone. Van Fenema heard a special comparison from someone:
“Het is eigenlijk alsof je een generatie laat opgroeien met cocaïne in hun zak. Ik vond dat een beetje heftig, maar toen ik er langer over nadacht vond ik het best moeilijk om het te ontkrachten. Het gaat om de enorme verslavende effecten. Voor je brein maakt het niet uit of het cocaïne, seks, gamen of een smartphone is. Het is hetzelfde mechanisme.”
“Social media is cocaïne voor je beloningssysteem. En zodra je beloningssysteem wordt gehackt, zijn we gevoelig voor verslaving. En als we verslaafd zijn, dan is er geen land met ons te bezeilen. Verslaving is een vreselijk lastig probleem.”
One of the consequences of social media is that young people meet less often in real life. While, according to Van Fenema, puberty is a very important socialization phase.
“De vraag is natuurlijk wat de gevolgen zijn als je dat [elkaar fysiek ontmoeten red.] does not develop in a healthy way and you isolate yourself with your smartphone. And not smelling, tasting and occasionally hitting each other. We are a social species, where physical contact leads to all kinds of pleasant substances and better brain development. Playing together protects against depression and anxiety. If we eliminate physical interaction from society, because people are busy with their phones, then we are missing a part of our manual.”
Theologian Stefan Paas wonders whether we are too easily pointing to the smartphone as the cause of all those mental problems.
“Het is heel verleidelijk om te denken dat er één grote oorzaak is van alle mentale problemen onder jongeren: de smartphone. En dan te denken: als we dat nou oplossen. Maar het zou ook kunnen dat dat toenemende vluchtgedrag in smartphones een symptoom is van iets wat dieper ligt. Mensen worden angstiger en gaan daardoor misschien juist meer op hun smartphone.”
Van Fenema recognizes that young people increasingly want to escape reality. She sees this, among other things, in the increase in drug use among young people and therefore also in the escape into social media on the phone. And that is not just a problem among young people.
“Dat hebben we denk ik zelf ook. Als je een vervelende dag hebt gehad en je zit op social media te surfen, dan ben je gewoon even helemaal verdoofd. En dan ben je opeens een paar uur kwijt van je dag, van je levenstijd. Maar het dempt wel lekker. Je hebt altijd afleiding.”
Young people are looking for meaning
In Generational Anxiety Disorder, Haidt also writes that young people experience a lack of meaning. Since 2012, young people have found life less meaningful. Van Fenema also hears this from young people. According to her, we are letting young people down.
“Ik denk dat je betekenis ook niet kan vinden als je alleen naar je eigen leven kijkt. Je moet onderdeel zijn van iets. We moeten nadenken over de rol die we jongeren kunnen geven, dat ze ertoe doen door betekenis te hebben in de gemeenschap, in de samenleving. Dat ze denken: ik heb een taak, een opdracht, een verantwoordelijkheid, ik doe ertoe. Door social media wordt dat in mijn beleving behoorlijk weggevaagd.”
Religious youth are better protected against the negative consequences of social media, says Haidt. One of the reasons for this is that these young people are part of a stable community and that makes them less lonely. Paas likes that Haidt also mentions that religious communities give rhythm to life.
“Je hebt een wekelijkse viering, je hebt een paar keer per jaar feesten. Een leven dat gebaseerd is op continu op je smartphone zitten, heeft die ritmes niet. Alles is onmiddellijk overal toegankelijk en daardoor kost het ook niets. Je hoeft niet samen in een soort ritme te komen om daar te zijn. De smartphone is grenzeloos en ongestructureerd en dat gaat meestal niet goed samen met betekenis beleven.”
How do young people get rid of their addiction?
As parents, you can teach your children to use mobile phones and social media in a healthy way. Haidt gives several tips in his book. Wat zijn de tips voor gezond mobielgebruik?
- Don’t give your child a smartphone before high school. If you want to give them a phone, give them a basic phone, think of an old Nokia.
- Do not let your child create their own accounts on social media before the age of sixteen
- Make schools phone-free, let children put phones in lockers
- Let children play more without supervision and give them more freedom, so they develop social skills, overcome fear and become independent young adults
Van Fenema thinks that many young people are capable enough to use their mobile phone properly.
“Ik denk dat jongeren ook wel echt in staat zijn om creatief te zoeken naar ‘the way out’. Hoe moeten we hiermee omgaan? Ik denk dat wij somberder zijn, dan jongeren die allang weten hoe ze algoritmes moeten omzeilen om te zorgen dat ze niet de hele tijd worden ‘gevoed’ met allerlei onzin.”
This is his story
‘I lost control’
A month without social media, that is the idea behind it May Social Free. Communications strategist Jan Bruin devised the campaign. He experienced firsthand how harmful social media can be, he says Money or your Life (E.O.).
Verslaafd
His screen time was between twelve and fourteen hours a day seven years ago. “That was a real low point.” During his work, Jan was more concerned with social media such as Facebook, LinkedIn and dating apps than with his work tasks: “Then you are constantly in a flow of dopamine.”
He felt rushed during that period and he had the feeling that he was: “Continually in some kind of superficial interaction with all sorts of things.” The moment he felt he had lost control, he decided to tackle his addiction with “tough measures”.
Afkicken
Jan started looking for ways to entertain himself without a screen. “You have to put something in its place, otherwise you suddenly find yourself with a lot of free time.” He went for walks without a phone and he started reading books. The first walks were not necessarily fun: “That took a while, but that’s how I disconnected myself from social media.”
Kicking the habit from social media has “without a doubt” made him a happier person. So now he has the campaign May Social Free invented. “I want to make people aware of the dangers of social media for mental health and for the provision of information.”
Jan also hopes to wake up people who consider themselves less addicted. “I hit a certain rock bottom and I hope a lot of people don’t hit it.”
Want to know more about Mei Social Vrij? Read more here!
What do you think?
Do you find the impact of social media harmful?
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Knowing more?
Listen to The Incredible Podcast
Want to know more about the impact of social media on young people? Listen to The Incredible Podcast (E.O.). You can do this here or via your favorite podcast app.
Or listen to Money or your Life (EO) about May Social Free:
Read more?
We wrote this before
Hebben mbo’ers een mobieltjesverbod nodig?
Moeten we Duits voorbeeld volgen en kinderen pas vanaf 14 jaar mobieltje geven?
Answer knowledge question: young people spend the most time on Snapchat, followed by TikTok and Instagram.
