Eye-opening findings on youth, social media

Those were among many eye-opening points from a recent presentation on social media, AI and youth, sponsored by YouthThink, Wasco County’s alcohol and drug prevention program.

Cori Hammond, a speaker with the Partnership to End Addiction, said the information “feels kind of like sci-fi … but we have to remember this is a real thing that a lot of people are doing and it’s very much happening in high school populations. AI is a fake friend."

It’s also quick to lead people astray. Studies show chatbots generated harmful responses to prompts around half the time on topics around mental health, eating disorders and substance use.

“These AI’s don’t have human empathy,” she said.

One case found an AI chatbot took just over an hour to reach the point of helping a young person generate a suicide note, she said.

AI developers say chatbots are supposed to direct suicidal people to the crisis line, 988, but it often doesn’t happen.

Parents of youth who have died by suicide have sued AI developers, saying their chatbots encouraged their sons to die by suicide, Hammond said.

One study found AI tools meant for toddlers literally provided talking points from the Chinese Communist Party, as well as telling kids how to find a knife and matches. It also talked about sex toys.

A key way for parents to protect their kids is to balance their own use of social media. “They’re going to watch what you do much more than what you say,” Hammond said.

She advised face to face talks or phone calls over texting, avoiding using devices during family time, and having tech-free areas or outings. Also important is not allowing phones in bedrooms at night.

She encouraged parents to talk to their kids about safe social media use. One idea is to say you just read something about a certain topic, and ask them what they know about it.

The Partnership to End Addiction has free confidential guidance, coaching and community groups. Find them online at drugfree.org/.

Sextortion, a form of blackmail where a perpetrator threatens to distribute private, intimate or sexually explicit images or videos of a victim unless their demands are met, is rare, but can happen.

Kids need to know that if something feels wrong, they should speak to their parent or trusted adult and tell them they won’t be shamed or blamed, she said.

We would never let our kids have full access to porn or drugs, or be exposed to bullies and scammers, but a phone allows all that, she said.

Recent landmark lawsuits against Meta and YouTube awarded hundreds of millions of dollars to victims after juries ruled they knowingly designed addictive platforms that harmed youth mental health.

More lawsuits are expected. It is reminiscent of lawsuits against tobacco companies in the 1990s that found they knew their products were addictive and dangerous but hid that from the public.

Like Big Tobacco, social media companies are focused on making money, not on protecting anyone’s health, she said.

Some countries have barred social media for those under 15 and others are considering it, she said.

Almost all teens have access to a smartphone, and they average over five hours a day on it. Ninety percent of youth use YouTube, and 63 percent are on TikTok. And 19% of teens are on them almost constantly, Hammond said.

Signs a youth is addicted to social media include emotional distress when offline, declining grades, spending less time with family or friends, neglecting personal hygiene, and physical symptoms like headaches.

A big part of the appeal is social acceptance, she said. That used to be gained in person, but now it’s from likes and followers on social media. But, it’s not just instant acceptance “but also instant pushback, hate and vitriol,” Hammond said.

It’s not all bad. Kids have built confidence, done creative things and built skills, and developed cultural awareness and empathy, she said. “A lot of good things are possible on the internet.”

But half of kids say they knew they spend too much time on social media and that it harms kids their age, she said. And 54% say it would be very or somewhat hard to quit social media.

And that difficulty to stop is intentional, Hammond said. Social media platforms “are designed to encourage impulsive, frequent use. They’re designed to make you want to be online for hours and hours a day,” she said.

Youth say it harms sleep, productivity and mental health, but the upside is it maintains friendships, she said.

Being online means not spending time in person, exercising, reading, being outdoors, or pursuing hobbies. “All these things are good for our mental and physical health,” she said.

As social media use has risen, so has negative mental health outcomes for teens. Loneliness and friendlessness surged starting in 2012, when young people’s social lives moved increasingly online, she said.

The suicide rate from 2000-2019 rose 48% for adolescents, but for girls 10-14 it rose 131%, she said. More social media use is connected to higher rates of expressing suicidal thoughts.

There’s also a connection between social media use and risky behaviors, including substance use and sexual behaviors. Encrypted apps, or apps where messages disappear can be a way to sell drugs, she said.

She encouraged parents to have conversations with teens explaining that buying and selling drugs online is illegal and very dangerous.

Another concerning trend is the content aimed at boys, called “problematic masculine content.”

“A lot of content for boys is about making money, building muscle, fighting and weapons,” Hammond said.

There’s also “very misogynistic” messaging that girls only date certain types of boys, and that girls use their looks to get what they want.

It’s pitting boys against girls, promoting problematic stereotypes and can promote violence against women, Hammond said.

Boys with high exposure to this content are more likely to have low self-esteem, feel lonely, and have body image pressure. They feel they can’t discuss feelings, fearing it would make them look weak.