this post was submitted on 25 Apr 2026
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A little bit of column A and a little bit of column B.
It has been proven that social media damages teeneagers's development and self-worth. Or anyone here is going to attempt to deny this?
Either parents get way, way, way better at managing this or someone else has to do it.
This is almost entirely a side effect of social media being privately owned and made to be as addictive rage inducing etc as possible as it brings the most clicks and profit.
This is such absolute cope that lacks real world nuance.. The problem with social media is the nature of social media in the aggregate. Specially for younger minds. That is not to say that it will not affect adults as well.
Social media is addictive period, and how some of them interact against the human condition. Making it not privately owned would not fix this. Say the government owning it, or having extreme control over it, mostly devolves into a tool of control and surveillance. As it can be demonstrated in some countries.
https://theconversation.com/digital-surveillance-is-omnipresent-in-china-heres-how-citizens-are-coping-225628
it is true that social media is made way more addictive due to incentiviing profit, you are correct there. But for example, studies show that despite the addictive nature of platforms like Instagram, girls self's worth gets utterly destroyed by merely using the app, over time. Addiction not required.
The present form of social media is not some neutral expression of “human nature.” It is the product of platforms designed under capitalist ownership to maximize engagement, advertising exposure, data extraction, and retention. That means the most emotionally provocative, addictive, rage-inducing, insecurity-producing content gets structurally rewarded because it keeps people scrolling.
Yes, adolescent minds are more vulnerable. Yes, social comparison can damage self-worth, especially among girls. But that does not refute my point; it supports it. Instagram does not simply “show girls images.” It ranks, recommends, amplifies, tests, optimizes, and monetizes content through engagement systems designed to put forth the most inflammatory emotionally charged content possible (bodydysmorphia tier influencers followed directly by weight loss drug ads).
Also scare mongering about "evil CCP surveillance" is fucking silly. Our government listens to and is accountable to us unlike your digital overlords.