Two “challenges” spread on social networks have been identified by New York authorities as the main drivers of several misfortunes and a profile of thefts.
First, the deadly game of “surfing” on Subway cars is associated with the TikTok platform: it has been detected that dangerous stunts are promoted in the transportation system and whoever achieves it obtains thousands of likes and followers.
And, second, behind the growing increase in thefts of Kia and Hyundai vehicles, the New York City Police Department (NYPD) has specified that its trigger is “instruction manuals” on the TikTok video network, where teenagers are encouraged and explained how to steal these vehicles with simple steps.
Thats not all. For several months, Mayor Eric Adams and his team have put their finger on the devastating effects that social media addiction has on children and adolescents and its link with mental health problems and suicides.
But this week he went further, announcing the filing of a lawsuit to hold five social media platforms liable. (TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat and YouTube) for driving the national growth of mental health problems in young people.
In this way, the City joins hundreds of school districts across the country in filing litigation that seeks to force the technology giants to make some modifications, while hold them responsible for the costs of addressing this public health threat.
It is estimated that the municipality invests annually $100 million in mental health programs, to reverse the effects of these technologies.
“Competition for stupid things”
More of 150 New York City school community advocates, researchers, technologists, mental health providers, community organizations, and youth associations, They support municipal action to draw more drastic limits on technology corporations.
In the streets and in various surveys, educators, parents and representatives support in “all its letters” the concerns of the Health authorities of the Big Apple.
Such is the case, of the Dominican teacher Yaina Guinoawho assures that children are having changes in their patterns of connecting with other people and They are exposed to very negative “virtual” environments.
“It is a generation that is growing up subject to stress, excess information and competition for stupid things, like never before. This scheme of comparing yourself every second with the lifestyle of others affects self-esteem and creates isolation in children and young people. They are at a family gathering and all they see is the phone screen. Nothing interests them more than what happens on the networks,” analyzed the islander, who has only been in the Big Apple for two years.
Yaina argues that “it is a global phenomenon,” but that it has more impact in cities like this, where children from a very young age, They have easier access to technology of all kinds and better phones. But at the same time, there is an excess of very harmful information, which basically creates a lot of frustration.
Likewise, the Puerto Rican Candy Melo, 48, resident of Washington Heightssays that at night she “confiscates” the phones of her two teenage children, because they used to stay up until the wee hours of the morning watching “filth.”
“The networks are worse than drugs, because they lead these kids to very bad things. They feel less or more, because of stupid things. But the big question is what we prefer as parents: That they are like fools on a screen, or that they are on the street looking for danger?
An addictive virtual world
The criterion of the lawsuit filed this week is that this technology is fueling a national youth mental health crisis by intentionally designing an addictive virtual world, by use harmful algorithms aimed at young people.
For his part, the commissioner of New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH), Dr. Ashwin Vasan compared these platforms to “toxins” like lead and nicotine.
New York City is currently employing a wide range of tools to fight back, including education, awareness, research and regulation. This demand is another step to seek more in-depth solutions.
“The days of absolute freedom for technology giants must end. Wait for it to “self-regulating is naive”Vasan asserted.
In this sense, Eva Wong, Executive Director of the NYC Mayor’s Office of Community Mental Health points out that many times, social networks expose our children to cyberbullying, body image issues, online predators, privacy concerns, and an increased risk of depression, anxiety, feelings of isolation, and even suicide.
“As a mother, I am deeply concerned about the lasting negative effect that social media has on shaping youth culture. And today, as a City, We say that it is not enough to simply warn young people about these dangers. We must hold companies accountable for creating and profiting from a true environmental toxin.”
Overwhelming data
In New York City, more than 38% of high school students reported feeling so sad or hopeless over the past year that they stopped doing their usual activities.
The hopelessness rate among high school students in 2021 was almost a 50% higher for Latino and black students than for white students.
Nowadays, more than a third of children ages 13 to 17 nationwidereport that they use social networks “almost constantly” and admit that this is “too much.”
However, more than half of these children report that they would find it difficult to reduce their use of social networks.
Likewise, in 2021, 77% of high school students in the Big Apple stated that they passed an average three or more hours per school day of screen time, not including time spent on homework.
Last year, Mayor Adams announced the launch of TeenSpace, a free telemental health service available to all New York City teens, between 13 and 17 years old, which allows them to connect with a licensed therapist via phone, video and text. In the three months of operation, this virtual office has served more than 2,000 youth in all five boroughs.
Meta apologizes
The lawsuit filed by the City of New York follows those of other states, for exactly the same reason: the addictive hooking of children on these platforms, even as the company said its social media sites were safe for young people.
Colorado and California led a joint lawsuit filed by 33 states in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, accusing Meta, owner of Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger of violating consumer protection laws by unfairly ensnaring children and misleading users about the safety of their platforms.
In a statement replicated by The New York Timesthe giant Meta assured that it was working to provide a safer environment for teenagers in its applications and has introduced more than 30 tools to support teenagers and their families.
“We are disappointed that instead of working productively, with companies across the industry, to create clear, age-appropriate standards for the many apps teens usethe attorneys general have chosen this path,” said the technology corporation.
At the beginning of the year, in an appearance before the Capitol, to analyze the damage caused by social networks to children, Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, apologized to families who reported harm to their children from these technologies.
Platforms defend themselves
Los YouTube representatives They told local media in response to the “declaration of war” raised by several States, which had implemented a variety of safeguards for young users, including the addition of “digital well-being features” and the removal of content that “endangers the emotional well-being of minors or promotes suicide and self-harm.”
Likewise, a TikTok spokesperson last January assured that their companies have added user aids to improve the mental health of young people, such as bedtime reminders and age restrictions.
The company also said it created an application programming interface that includes public data about the content and accounts of the platform, which is available to American researchers.
Demand details:
- The lawsuit filed in California Superior Court by the City of New York, the NYC Department of Education and the NYC Public Hospital Corporation (H+H), seeks certain regulations on companies that operate TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat and YouTuberesponsible for their role in the creation of the Youth mental health crisis in New York City.
- The lawsuit alleges that the companies They intentionally designed their platforms to manipulate and addict children and adolescents. to social media applications.
- They also accuse them of using algorithms to generate ‘feeds’ that keep users on the platforms. longer and encourage compulsive use.
- It is made clear that they use similar mechanisms to games of chance in the design of applications, which allow anticipation and the desire to obsessively accumulate “likes” and “hearts.”
- The lawsuit specifically alleges that the companies’ intentional conduct and negligence have been a substantial factor in fueling a youth mental health crisis, which constitutes a scourge that affects schools, public hospitals and communities throughout the city.
The data:
- 77% of high school students in the Big Apple stated that they passed an average three or more hours per school day of screen time, not including time spent on homework
2024-02-16 13:40:49
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