Nice work, Meta, at removing a FB page I reported... 360 days after I reported it?!
Tim Bernard
@timbernard.me
1.2K followers 146 following 200 posts
Tech policy, trust & safety. Writings collected at timbernard.me.
Tech policy, trust & safety. Writings collected at timbernard.me.
![Not a causal study
The paper’s footnote clarifies, “[t]his is a descriptive study, thereby limiting our ability to draw conclusions about cause and effect.” Its regular use of the terms “effect,” “impact,” and “outcome” should therefore be interpreted in this light. It is not hard to imagine that, for instance, the relationship between negative senses of well-being, self-esteem, and social connection on the one side and extended scrolling on TikTok or watching hours of YouTube on the other may not have an obvious direction of causality. Conversely, on days when teens felt closer to their friends, they spent more time conversing with them on SnapChat or WhatsApp. Some of the authors’ summary statements suggest that they too had trouble keeping this distinction in mind when they write, for example, that “[t]hese findings indicate that social media use is a contributor to mental health problems in the majority of adolescents.”](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:efk2pcwwy4muer4hxkf4asip/bafkreigokbjad2o36zuv5324frdafcjxludsdiecifoaa72hy32be4hbzu)
