Lib Dems vogliono avvisi di salute sui social media degli adolescenti

Education is far more important if we want young people to be aware of the dangers of social media.

As a Millenial we had drilled into us from a young age about how terrible smoking is, so not many from our generation smoke. The same happened with gen Zs for alcohol and unhealthy food so less of them drink/eat shit than older people. Gen As need to be taught how unhealthy social media is and how to moderate usage. 

The idea that social media is inherently harmful in general (or even for teens in particular) isn’t actually backed by hard evidence.

* In the fall of 2022, the widely respected Pew Research Center did a massive study on kids and the internet, and found that for a majority of teens, social media was [way more helpful than harmful.](https://www.techdirt.com/2022/11/28/contrary-to-popular-opinion-most-teens-get-real-value-out-of-social-media/)

* Soon after that, the US Surgeon General came out with a report which was misrepresented widely in the press. Yet, the details of that report also showed that [no causal link](https://www.techdirt.com/2023/05/30/a-deeper-look-at-the-surgeon-generals-report-on-kids-social-media-its-not-what-you-heard/) could be found between social media and harms to teens. It did still recommend that we act as if there were a link, which was weird and explains the media coverage, but the actual report highlights no causal link, while also pointing out how much benefit teens receive from social media).

* A few months later, an Oxford University study came out covering nearly a million people across 72 countries, noting that it could [find no evidence](https://www.techdirt.com/2023/08/10/massive-new-study-covering-72-countries-nearly-1-million-people-finds-zero-evidence-that-facebook-leads-to-psychological-harm/) of social media leading to psychological harm.

* The Journal of Pediatrics published a new study in the fall of 2023 again noting that after looking through decades of research, the mental health epidemic faced among young people appears largely due to [the lack of open spaces where kids can be kids](https://www.techdirt.com/2023/10/26/new-study-in-the-journal-of-pediatrics-says-maybe-its-not-social-media-but-helicopter-parenting-thats-making-kids-depressed/) without parents hovering over them. That report notes that they explored the idea that social media was a part of the problem, but could find no data to support that claim.

* In November of 2023, Oxford University published yet another study, this one focused specifically on screen time, and if increased screen time was found to be damaging to kids, and [found no data](https://www.techdirt.com/2023/11/22/can-we-stop-the-moral-panic-yet-new-study-childrens-brains-are-not-harmed-by-screen-time/) to support that contention.

Yes, bad things *can* happen on social media – grooming, cyberbullying, misinformation. But the notion that it is inherently harmful in a way comparable to the harms of, say, tobacco smoke, is simply not substantiated.