What the data shows about youth mental health (w/ Candice Odgers)
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This is How to Be a Better Human. I'm your host, Chris Duffy. Right now, we are in the midst of one of the biggest parenting crises in recent memory. And the source of the panic is social media. It makes sense, right? Like, we know as adults how horrible we feel after wasting hours on Instagram. And we're constantly inundated with news stories talking about how kids are seeing horrific images online and rotting their brains and being sucked into extremism and crime and disaster and everything bad. It makes sense. It seems like a no-brainer that everything wrong with kids today could be traced back to social media or is at least being made worse by it. And yet today's guest is going to challenge that entire premise.
In fact, she's going to argue that today's kids are finding real value in connecting with each other online. And one of the things that I appreciate most about a good TED Talk is how it can change the way I think about an issue by presenting me with new compelling evidence from a real verified expert. And that's why I think today's guest, Candice Odgers, is someone so interesting to listen to. She goes against a lot of conventional wisdom, including the premises of several bestselling books, and instead looks at the data that she has collected over a career as a quantitative and developmental psychologist specializing in adolescent mental health. What Candice has found surprised me, and it might surprise you too.
Here's a clip from her TED Talk.
One of the most consistent things we have found is that the stories that you and I are told repeatedly every day about teenagers today, that they are lost, that they are worse off than ever, that somehow smartphones and social media have destroyed them and their brains, it doesn't match the data. And it doesn't match what they tell us. There is a massive gap. And as I've tried to make sense of this gap, I keep coming back to a simple truth that we all know. Scary stories sell. They always have.
How does the episode introduce the panic around teens and social media?
And the more often you hear something, the more likely you are to believe that it's true. I'm going to say it again. The more often you hear something, the more likely you are to believe that it's true. Right? And scary stories are really easy to sell to parents. We are an anxious lot. The hypervigilance, it hits us. When we hold that tiny baby in our arms, our entire world changes. It hits again when they hit puberty, and they begin to change in these dramatic and rapid ways, when our sense of control over them and what comes next begins to feel less certain. I get this. My 15-year-old is 6'4". My 12-year-old is embracing independence like she's leaving for college next week. But the good news is that the real story about teens today is far more positive and far less frightening than the stories we all read.
They have made remarkable progress on metrics that really matter, and we know a lot about how to keep them happy, safe and well.
We're going to talk with Candice all about what works and what doesn't in just a moment. But first, a quick break.
Support comes from Wise, the smart way to manage the currencies you need around the world. Your life is global. Your money should be too. Some providers promise no fees on overseas transfers. Don't be fooled. Extra costs often hide in bloated exchange rates. Choose Wise. You can send, spend, and receive money in over 40 currencies. Count on the exchange rates that you'd usually see on Google. That's how millions save billions on hidden fees. Be smart. Get Wise. Visit wise.com. T's and C's apply.
And we are back.
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