13-year-olds are too young to be on social media, US surgeon general says

ThatRobGuy

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Well, I'm nearly 70, and I ran my first antivirus program on my PC in 1990 against "Stoned."

I've had a computer continuously on my desk at work since 1973 (well, actually in 1973 my work desk was a computer), owned a personal computer since 1985, been building them since 1988.
You would be one of those "few exceptions" I was referring to.
 
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ThatRobGuy

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Charlie Kirk....somehow able to brush off college students like lice.....lost a debate with actual white supremacists. These political talking heads on the right aren't exactly dumb....but how do you lose to actual white supremacists.

I'll put it to you like this....I've found one debate on the merits of CRT. 1. It's super short about 10 minutes. It's a grad school critical gender studies finishing his masters (I think) vs a girl with a bachelors in biology I think.

That's weird when you consider that this theory is basically taking over social sciences and social issues on the political left. They can't stand up to Charlie Kirk? Groypers can beat Charlie Kirk in a debate. I'm not calling these people stupid....but they're a far cry from being able to form strong arguments.
I left out people like Charlie Kirk and Crowder because much of their stuff is one-sided impromptu debates against (typically) college kids. I say "one-sided impromptu" because they typically already have their talking points rehearsed, and the college kids are usually walking up to table fresh.

That, and I don't think Charlie Kirk would be of the same caliber as the DW guys.

When the conversation strays from the rehearsed talking points he had planned, he's become unhinged on more than one occasion.

This one memorably stands out

As does this one he did with Ben Gleib with him getting angry, calling Ben a terrorist, and then walking off the stage.


So it's not surprising that Charlie Kirk wouldn't be able to beat a white supremacist in a debate.

As to where Matt Walsh seemed to be able to handle himself a little better
 
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RDKirk

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You would be one of those "few exceptions" I was referring to.
This was my desk at work in 1973:
BR90.jpg
 
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RestoreTheJoy

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U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy said he believes 13 is too young for children to be on social media platforms, despite some of the most popular platforms, including Facebook and Instagram, allowing users to be that age.
Murthy told CNN on Sunday that he believes being on social media "does a disservice" to kids early in their teen years.
"I, personally, based on the data I've seen, believe that 13 is too early," Murthy said on "CNN Newsroom." "It's a time where it's really important for us to be thoughtful about what's going into how they think about their own self-worth and their relationships and the skewed and often distorted environment of social media often does a disservice to many of those children."


I have mixed feelings about this.

On one hand, I understand the concerns (like the ones pertaining to young people having unrealistic expectations and body image issues)...but many of those concerns would apply to the internet, in general , as well as several other various forms of entertainment like TV and Movies.

I understand the concerns about young people being exposed to certain ideas and misinformation that could skew some of their thinking, but again, that stuff is on TV and the regular old internet.


Cyber bullying is something that's a little more unique to social media, in that, while the web is full of sites that can spew conspiracy theories, and depict people who have unrealistic looks and bodies, you're not likely to go to a random website or or see a movie where a bunch of people start insulting you, personally, by name.

On the other hand, I think it's a good thing that more and more young people want to become politically engaged, and social media has become the primary vehicle for that. And it's a net positive when people have more ways to communicate with each other.

...and, I think Muthy's assessment is giving some mixed messages here given the administration he's working for. It wasn't too long ago when people were having conversations about advocating for allowing 16 year olds to vote or have an abortion without parental notification/consent. And we're currently having national-level conversations about whether or not to allow adolescents to make major life-altering medical decisions.

If a 15-16 year old is old enough to vote and obtain medical procedures without parental consent, and people are talking about trusting their judgment with regards to certain forms of gender affirmation care, it's kind of tough to sell the idea of "but, yeah, we don't think you're old enough for an instagram account"
Well, this government is certainly in no position to be giving advice, considering all that is being pushed in schools and all the lies we are told nonstop. However, that said, parents need to know that it is not safe out there today, as it was reasonably so a decade ago, when kids could really just message their friends and play games.

These apps today are all stealing and redistributing information and people are not who they say they are.

NO 15 year old is old enough to vote or - God forbid- consent to any medical procedures whatsoever. That is why they have parents. These are minors, under their parents care. Their brains aren't even fully formed until the mid-twenties, as all of us who have raised kids know.
 
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Landon Caeli

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If a 13 year old is on social media, it is because they already possess the social capability to do it. My 10 year old is on the computer daily, using either her headset, or typing. She has a mastery of social skills, however my 13 year old lacks social skills, and she has zero interest in social media.

Nature is fully functional. We don't need laws to guide nature.
 
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RDKirk

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If a 13 year old is on social media, it is because they already possess the social capability to do it. My 10 year old is on the computer daily, using either her headset, or typing. She has a mastery of social skills, however my 13 year old lacks social skills, and she has zero interest in social media.

Nature is fully functional. We don't need laws to guide nature.
Being on social media is not an indication of developed social skills. Too much time on social media is often an indicator of undeveloped social skills. That's one of the reasons social media is a pit of darkness.
 
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Landon Caeli

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Being on social media is not an indication of developed social skills. Too much time on social media is often an indicator of undeveloped social skills. That's one of the reasons social media is a pit of darkness.
No, she really does have a mastery of social skills. She's very outspoken in real-life, and can carry on with complex topics, and fully understands them. She even has a complex imagination, and sense of humor. ...I think that's *why* she takes to social media. I hear her laughing out loud every 15 or 20 minutes she's online communicating with other kids.

With her older sister, she has poor social skills, and has no interest in social media at this point in her life. Naturally. Which is perfectly fine too, IMO.

We are who we are.
 
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timewerx

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Being on social media is not an indication of developed social skills. Too much time on social media is often an indicator of undeveloped social skills. That's one of the reasons social media is a pit of darkness.

There's plenty of articles out there that social media has negative effect on the mental health of ADULTS and taking a break/hiatus from social media often have positive outcomes on the mental health.

Imagine how much worse it can get with younger people, when they are in their 'formative' years, still trying to learn life and society.

Even many adults are unable to fully comprehend the extent of reality around them and social media somewhat cements their thinking with a very poor substitute of reality.
 
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Landon Caeli

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There's plenty of articles out there that social media has negative effect on the mental health of ADULTS and taking a break/hiatus from social media often have positive outcomes on the mental health.

Imagine how much worse it can get with younger people, when they are in their 'formative' years, still trying to learn life and society.

Even many adults are unable to fully comprehend the extent of reality around them and social media somewhat cements their thinking with a very poor substitute of reality.
Sounds like a kind of cognitive bias, like those who worried about rock and roll back in the 50's.
 
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ThatRobGuy

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If a 13 year old is on social media, it is because they already possess the social capability to do it. My 10 year old is on the computer daily, using either her headset, or typing. She has a mastery of social skills, however my 13 year old lacks social skills, and she has zero interest in social media.

Nature is fully functional. We don't need laws to guide nature.

While that can be true in some instances, I don't think we can operate on the blanket assumption that's conflating "tech savvy" with "developed social skills".

I know people where it goes both ways. There are people who spend a lot of time on social media who are extremely socially awkward when they're not sitting behind a keyboard.
 
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timewerx

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I think our

Sounds like a kind of cognitive bias, like those who worried about rock and roll back in the 50's.

Actually, I've been active on social media for more than 10 years. But as time goes by, it's becoming a major waste of time and distraction even if I'm engaged in the more functional/practical side of social media like DIY. DIY is quite useful for many people. But even these things are becoming major distraction from things that really matter.

And then I've seen families I know personally got ruined by social media. The wife sees her peers doing better and pressures her husband to work harder or have some ambition and then they fight over it.

Then I saw kids get insecure over their friends allowed more freedom by their parents. Or their friends have more "successful" parents and have more money to spend. And they act out this insecurity in a horrible manner, they hate and blame their parents for not being as successful nor as lenient as their friends' parents.
 
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timewerx

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With her older sister, she has poor social skills, and has no interest in social media at this point in her life. Naturally. Which is perfectly fine too, IMO.

We are who we are.

There are lots of people that have poor social skills prefer the social media than talking to people face to face.

Liking social media or not has nothing to do with social skills, it's a choice.

I used to love social media but as I learned more about God's Word, the more I learned most of the content are contrary and even hostile to God's nature and teachings. It's filled with temptations to become conceited, covetous, materialistic, lovers of pleasure, food, and money.

I still use social media to some degree but have heavily depended on filters like with settings, extensions, and conscious avoidance to help filter out the vast majority of the garbage out there. I have also stopped visiting many of the platforms I used to frequent.
 
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Landon Caeli

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Actually, I've been active on social media for more than 10 years. But as time goes by, it's becoming a major waste of time and distraction even if I'm engaged in the more functional/practical side of social media like DIY. DIY is quite useful for many people. But even these things are becoming major distraction from things that really matter.

And then I've seen families I know personally got ruined by social media. The wife sees her peers doing better and pressures her husband to work harder or have some ambition and then they fight over it.

Then I saw kids get insecure over their friends allowed more freedom by their parents. Or their friends have more "successful" parents and have more money to spend. And they act out this insecurity in a horrible manner, they hate and blame their parents for not being as successful nor as lenient as their friends' parents.
If we're not learning something through social media, then it is a total waste of time IMO. I like it, because here for example, people say things, and then I'm forced to do some research, before responding, to prevent myself from looking like too much of a fool. It's this constant research aspect, that has forced me to grow intellectually. For me, it's very healthy.

Other times, people will make a point that just totally recuircits my brain, because it's a concept I'd never even considered before... And then I take off with it in new directions, twisting it, and turning it, and it leads me to new areas of mind expansion.

depositphotos_335993238-stock-photo-mind-expansion.jpg
 
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RDKirk

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If we're not learning something through social media, then it is a total waste of time IMO. I like it, because here for example, people say things, and then I'm forced to do some research, before responding, to prevent myself from looking like too much of a fool. It's this constant research aspect, that has forced me to grow intellectually. For me, it's very healthy.
What is the difference between social media and forum?


In a “Forum”, the SUBJECT MATTER is the context, whereas in a “Social Network”, the PERSON and their profile is the context. It is the person who posts that makes the content valuable to the reader, and the personal connection is the #1 reason their post will get engaged with.
 
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Landon Caeli

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What is the difference between social media and forum?


In a “Forum”, the SUBJECT MATTER is the context, whereas in a “Social Network”, the PERSON and their profile is the context. It is the person who posts that makes the content valuable to the reader, and the personal connection is the #1 reason their post will get engaged with.
Oh... If that's the case, then social media is a pit of darkness. I was under the impression that all person to person interaction via the internet is "social media".

I don't do anything other than forums, for educational, mind expansion purposes. I could never be so shallow.
 
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Pommer

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What is the difference between social media and forum?


In a “Forum”, the SUBJECT MATTER is the context, whereas in a “Social Network”, the PERSON and their profile is the context. It is the person who posts that makes the content valuable to the reader, and the personal connection is the #1 reason their post will get engaged with.
In general: with “social-media” the participants (and all of the lovely data that they generate) are “the product”.
 
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timewerx

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If we're not learning something through social media, then it is a total waste of time IMO. I like it, because here for example, people say things, and then I'm forced to do some research, before responding, to prevent myself from looking like too much of a fool. It's this constant research aspect, that has forced me to grow intellectually. For me, it's very healthy.

Other times, people will make a point that just totally recuircits my brain, because it's a concept I'd never even considered before... And then I take off with it in new directions, twisting it, and turning it, and it leads me to new areas of mind expansion.

I've learned a lot more from school and the library during the 1990's and of course from the Bible. I went to the library not due to school work but simply loved absorbing information especially about technology, history, archeology, anthropology, geology, engineering, and astronomy.

Most material I encounter in social media are just recycled old material I've already known decades past in books. Most content contributors are not really after innovation but only to make money or some fleeting chance at fame. They're not even after facts because many times, they speculate or exaggerate in a way to attract more views but ends ups obscuring the truth in the process. And even so, many extraneous information promotes antiChristian behavior such loving the world, loving money, loving self, conceitedness.

I'm still on social media but I heavily filter what I see in it. I don't think even Christians would know what to filter as I've been observing many Christians nowadays have fallen away to worldliness. 1 John 2:15-16 comes to mind.

We end up divulging our secrets in our quest for fame to become like 'gods'. Telling everyone things we should have been discreet about. It's really not surprising when churches don't know what to do anymore.
 
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All4Christ

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Trust me - I understand the benefits. I've been fully present for the evolution of social media. I was in high school when Facebook was first opened up to people without college email addresses, and I've seen it go from an amazing tool for connecting with your friends and family and sharing photos to the cesspool that it is today. While it may have started out with good intentions, it's morphed into something completely different, and there's no real way to put that genie back in the bottle.
Blast to the past….I was one of the members from the early rounds of college students with college emails, when we could only see people from our same college. Now I am on it primarily to manage some business social media campaigns for my job and volunteer work…and to watch baking videos ^_^
 
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Pommer

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My parents were born before commercial radio, and television was a distant “magic”; which were my “normal”.
I was born before computers smaller than a semi-truck, or the Internet, for the kids of today, this is their “normal*”, they’ll be fine!

*Boomers, remember how your dad would come get you from your room (or wherever) to “jiggle the handle on the ‘television’!”?** We kids could work the mechanical-tuner on those old wooden encased TV’s, because that was our normal


**Back when TV’s were relatively expensive, shortening the name cheapened it (somehow), “TV” is a boomerism, imo
 
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