Social Media and Suicide: A Critical Appraisal
by Amy Orben, Medium
Great claims require great evidence.
The claim that social media and screen time cause depression and suicide therefore needs evidence of the highest calibre. Yet this kind of evidence does not exist.
Jean Twenge’s newest paper, “Increases in Depressive Symptoms, Suicide-Related Outcomes, and Suicide Rates Among U.S. Adolescents After 2010 and Links to Increased New Media Screen Time”, published in Clinical Psychological Science, sets out to provide such evidence – but falls short of this discernible goal. While the paper links social media and technology use to depressive symptoms and suicide rates, the links are so weak and inconsistent they could be artefacts of statistical error. Having re-run parts of Twenge’s analyses on a more recent dataset, I also found no compelling evidence for her claims. Researchers and non-researchers alike need to therefore treat the article’s claims with caution.
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Why We Need More (and Better!) Research on Kids and Tech
By Michael Robb, Common Sense
News about gaming disorders, depression linked to social media use, and the right amount of screen time can leave parents with more questions than answers when it comes to navigating what’s best in today’s 24/7 digital world. Every week it feels like the media blares out a new troubling statistic or study when it comes to the unintended consequences of our digital tools.
According to the latest Common Sense research, the proportion of teens who use social media multiple times a day has doubled over the past six years: In 2012, 34 percent of teens used social media more than once a day; today, 70 percent do. At the same time, most teens — seventy-three percent — think social media is designed to make them spend more time on their devices and distract them and their friends. The days when we could talk about a singular “effect” of social media are long gone; its role is complex, nuanced, and varied. And, as any parent knows, social media is just one piece of the puzzle when it comes to thinking about digital well-being. From waking up to phone notifications to Googling directions to soccer games, what we do with tech tools increasingly feels like a necessary part of daily life.
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Report finds bullying and emotional and behavioural problems impact on primary students’ learning ability (AU)
November 9, 2018 by Christine Tondorf, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (Medical Press)
New research has found that a large percentage of Australian eight to 12 year olds are being bullied and/or experiencing emotional difficulties – and these children are falling behind their peers in numeracy and reading in the classroom.
The Murdoch Children’s Research Institute’s Centre for Adolescent Health has produced the Student Wellbeing, Engagement and Learning across the Middle Years report for the Federal Department of Education and Training.
According to the report, a substantial proportion of students in middle primary school (Years 3 to 5) are not tracking well. 20 per cent experience persistent emotional problems (like depression and anxiety), 20 per cent have behavioral problems, and around 10 per cent self-report low wellbeing.
More than 20 per cent of children in Years 3 to 5 are also being bullied across two or even three years. The statistics in the report come from a longitudinal study of more than 1200 Melbourne students – the Childhood to Adolescence Transition Study (CATS).
CATS project leader, MCRI’s Professor George Patton said it is likely that every Years 3, 4 and 5 classroom in Australia has at least one child experiencing persistent bullying and/or emotional and behavioral issues.
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