Is Social Media a good thing?

Of course I’ll say no.  I’m an old curmudgeon.  What surprised me was the attitude of a much younger cohort.  According to a report in the New York Times on the attitudes of 18- to 27-year-olds, 44% of the women and 31% of the men said social media had a negative impact on their mental health.  

The pollsters had asked 1006 Gen Z adults, ages 18-27about their views on social media.  50% said they wished the social media platform X did not exist; 47% said they wished TikTok did not exist.  

The researchers said that social media use was somewhat like smoking cigarettes.  A majority of smokers say they enjoy smoking, but a majority of smokers also say they wish they had never started.  

See Jonathan Haidt and Will Johnson, “Gen Z Has Regrets.  We Have Receipts,” New York Times, (Sept. 22, 2024), p. SR8.