More than 15% of teens say they're on YouTube or TikTok ‘almost constantly’
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A new Pew Research Center study finds that more than 15% of teens say they're on YouTube or TikTok "almost constantly."

More than 15% of teens say they’re on YouTube or TikTok ‘almost constantly’::A new Pew Research Center study finds that more than 15% of teens say they’re on YouTube or TikTok “almost constantly.”

  • LillyPip@lemmy.caEnglish
    1·
    7 months ago

    I don’t think the issue is the content – in fact, I feel our ability to interact with anyone anywhere is a net gain for humanity for many reasons.

    I think the issue isn’t what they’re seeing, but how.

    Learning worldviews from 2 minute TikToks or YouTube shorts where everything is surface-level with no incentive to expand that knowledge, presented as authoritative and bracketed by ads, does bad things to young brains.

    There’s no depth to understanding, it’s just hot take after hot take, with no real discussion about the whys of things. The brain is actually trained away from developing deep understandings of things, and misinformation flourishes.

    It’s not so much the content as the delivery. Junk food isn’t bad because it contains sugar and fat – that’s okay if it’s not your main diet.

    TikTok, YouTube shorts, and similar superficial media are Pringles. And now kids are living off Pringles and little else.