> In particular, while there is no overarching evidence showing that owning a phone or using social media is harmful to children's wellbeing in general
I suppose if you don't look for something, it's impossible to find
I would imagine that many of us here (being this is HN) are off social media like FB or Twitter and have felt the positive impact this has made.
Anecdotally, my wife was a high school teacher for 15 years and saw the effects of smart phones and social media first hand with her students and how behaviors and issues changed as these became more prevalent.
When we were younger, if you got bullied at school it stayed at school for the most part. Now, kids carry their smart phones, access social media, and the torment continues there. Hell, even if you’re not bullied, you’re still exposed to the facade of success and beauty online and made to feel inadequate.
I cannot understand how there is a question still about negative effects or a statement like that in a BBC article and it makes me question their angle.
I feel that we’ll one day look back on this period of giving children smart phones and social media access like we look back on smoking.
We’re talking about the smartest minds in tech building devices and apps designed to engage and capture as much attention as possible and we’re letting kids feed into this system they are absolutely not equipped for - most adults aren’t either.
There are plenty of ‘dumb’ devices out there for kids that will give parents what they might need to communicate and keep an eye on their kids should they choose to.
A do high school senior photography, so I tend to get tagged when they post photos.
Let me tell you, there’s an opposite side of that coin. I’ve yet to see a girl post photos without tens (or hundreds) of comments on it telling her how pretty she is, worded a billion different ways.
Yes, even with the girls that actually aren’t pretty. It’s nice to see, and I’m sure it makes them feel great.
I suppose if you don't look for something, it's impossible to find