Study: Psychologists conclude that social media algorithms have a negative influence on users mental health

cross-posted from: https://piefed.world/c/tech/p/1365278/psychologists-say-that-social-media-algorithms-have-a-negative-influence-on-users-mental

news.utdallas.edu/health-medicine/social-media-algorithms-depression-2026/

Social media has the power to do so much good: connecting people across the globe, enabling the sharing of information across language barriers and in circumvention of government censorship, and more. But because the world is run by greedy power-hungry pigs, we can’t have social media without it being exploited to the furthest extent possible in the name of profit. The mental health of the public is not even a secondary concern - it is completely disregarded in favor of squeezing further growth out of a saturated market for a service that should be both simple and free.

When television started it had all the same potentials you mention in your first sentence, but by far its main use has been to convince people to buy crap they don’t need with money they don’t have. And that’s how it is now with the internet.

That may be true, but TV also brought me Star Trek TNG, Captain Planet, Sesame Street, Mr. Rogers, and many others that instilled values in me that are core to who I am today. Let’s not let perfection be the enemy of progress, and keep working to put our tools to better use.

I get that - I had my favorite shows too that were important in me becoming who I am. But before TV people had been developing good values for thousands of years, without degrading their attention spans or other mental functions, and in the 75 or so years of its history I really don’t see any evidence that the industry is working toward putting it to any better use.

people had been developing good values for thousands of years, without degrading their attention spans or other mental functions

Okay, so? That doesn’t prove TV doesn’t help with that. We got along wiping our asses with sticks just fine before toilet paper, I’m sure.

in the 75 or so years of its history I really don’t see any evidence that the industry is working toward putting it to any better use.

I literally just explained how, and you agreed with it. Are you sure you’re having the conversation you think you are?

Everyone has TV shows they like - this doesn’t in any way imply that the television industry is working toward making better use of it. It just means television has never been “all bad”. Whatever fight you’re looking for, I’m not interested.