Smartdevices, Social Media, and the Youth

-- By MoneshDevireddy - 28 Oct 2024

The Problem

The impact of technology on today’s youth is a growing concern, particularly when it comes to the addictive nature of social media and smart devices. Unlike previous generations who had less exposure to constant digital stimuli, today’s children are immersed in environments designed to maximize their screen time. These platforms exploit human psychological tendencies, from the rush of social media validation to the never-ending flow of content. While the consequences of this constant digital immersion—such as diminished cognitive development, poorer attention spans, and heightened mental health issues—are clear, simply regulating or banning access to these platforms may not be the most productive solution. Rather than focusing solely on restricting access to harmful technologies, we should consider creating and promoting better technologies for children—ones that respect their cognitive and emotional development. There is no reason why children cannot grow up engaging with technology in ways that are not only healthy but also stimulating and educational. By shifting the conversation from prohibition to innovation, we can create alternatives that encourage growth and self-expression without the damaging effects of dopamine-driven platforms.

The Effects

Cognitive Development

For years, people have voiced their concerns about the effects of technology and social media on attention, focus, and cognitive functioning generally. The softwares, operations, and layouts of smartdevices and social media platforms are meticulously designed in a way to take advantage of human behavioral patterns. The bright colors, typing bubbles, sound alerts, post reactions (likes/comments), vibrations, infinite scrolling layouts, “pull to refresh” mechanisms, and many other techniques are created to capitalize on the brain’s reward mechanism and human desire for attention and validation to keep us hooked for hours on end. In many ways, these devices and websites mimic methods used in casinos to create the a sense of “uncertainty, anticipation, and feedback” to addict users.

Most adults can attest to how they have succumbed to the addictive nature of their smartdevice or favorite social media site, so it is not hard to imagine the catastrophic consequences of being exposed to these sophisticatedly crafted schemes to capture and hold attention in a child's early (and most crucial) years of development. Studies show that nearly 40% of children under the age of two now use mobile devices, and that this early introduction of media is rewiring the brains of infants, as demonstrated by significantly poorer performance on developmental screening tests. Early disruption of cognitive development can spell out disaster in later life; evidence shows that chronic sensory stimulation (via excessive screen exposure) can lead to under- or abnormal-development of neural circuits underlying cognitive-behavioral abilities essential for general intelligence, and make people more vulnerable to accelerated neurodegeneration in late adulthood. In fact, smartdevices have altered cognitive behavior so much that the mere presence of one’s smartphone can reduce available cognitive capacity, manifesting as lower working memory and less functional fluid intelligence available for a cognitive task. It is no surprise that humanity is seeing a global decrease in academic performance in this age of an incredible increase in prevalence of smartdevice and social media use (measured, for example, by PISA scores).

Mental Health

There is no dearth of evidence demonstrating the detrimental impact smartdevice and social media use has on mental health, particularly for younger people. This impact stems from a variety of factors. Lack of supervision of smartdevice/social media use has led to youth exposure to unwanted sexual material online, and high rates of cyberbullying. Platforms such as Instagram and Snapchat expose children to unrealistic beauty standards, bombarding them with edited photographs of models, providing them with “filters” to dramatically alter their facial structure and skin texture in an effort to look more attractive, and resulting in children being dissatisfied with their appearance generally. Selfie Syndrome describes a disorder characterized by a compulsion to take photos of oneself and post them online; as a symptom of Body Dysmorphic Disorder, Selfie Syndrome can often lead to depression, social phobia, and substance abuse. Teens also report greater feelings of loneliness, social isolation, and envy stemming from a perception that peers in their social networks are better off than they are. Social media creates a toxic atmosphere pressurizing individuals to prove to their contemporaries that they are successful, popular, and attractive. This pressure leads to disingenuous displays of one’s life to create an impression of success and happiness, and encourages vulnerable children/adolescents to measure their worth through comparison with peers and celebrities. The manifestation of this phenomenon is alarming, with significant increases in childern/teen hospital visits for suicidal thought/attempts, and increases children/teen rates of mental disorders such as anxiety, depression, stress, and disordered eating.

The Way Ahead

Rather than taking an approach that solely focuses on regulating and restricting access to addictive technologies, society should look toward empowering children to engage with healthier, more constructive technologies. This could mean providing children with tools that foster creativity, critical thinking, and learning. Why should we simply prohibit harmful platforms when we can encourage them to use technology in ways that benefit their development? For example, kids could learn to build websites, develop coding skills, or even set up their own educational projects, much like how some young people engage in creating and contributing to platforms like Wikipedia or running their own FreedomBoxes. These alternatives offer children not just an escape from the negative side of tech but a genuine opportunity to harness their digital environments for positive, meaningful purposes. By fostering a culture of technological literacy that prioritizes skill-building and self-expression over mindless consumption, we can ensure that children not only enjoy their time with technology but also grow with it in healthy, fulfilling ways. It is time to move beyond simply regulating what children shouldn't use and begin to encourage the creation and use of technologies that can help them thrive.

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