The dangers of social media: experts give advice on how to stay protected, while being connected
In today's digital world, there are more ways than ever to stay connected and be social, but experts are warning that some social media content can have a negative impact on young people.
According to digital anthropologist Giles Crouch, there’s a good and bad side to all technologies.
"That's been the way throughout history. Fire is good but it can also burn your house down. It's a technology that we've harnessed,” said Crouch. “Social media is the same way."
Facebook has been in the news a lot lately, answering to claims by whistleblowers that the social media giant prioritizes growth over safety.
This week, top executives from other social networking sites like YouTube, Snapchat and TikTok were also in the hot seat, answering questions in front of the U.S. Congress about what they’re doing to ensure children are safe on their sites.
"Social media companies are the 21st century's big tobacco,” said David Shipley, a technology and cyber security expert and the CEO of Beauceron Security.
“It’s not the experience that you’re seeing on the surface that’s the risk. It's the supercomputer and the algorithm behind the scenes that's making the choices about what content you see and when,” adds Shipley.
He believes certain ages should not be on social media.
"I think under 13, parents should have a hard look, ok, is this what we want to be exposing our children to because, remember that's a whole world of potential predators that are out there on these platforms as well. So not only talking about the algorithm as the threat but here are just awful human being out there on the internet as well,” said Shipley.
Psychologist Danya Lee-Baggley said there are some advantages to social media.
"You can get connected with people that you might not have locally so for people, LGBTQ or other groups who don't feel they have people they can connect with who understand them, connecting with people online is an option,” she said.
Crouch said social media can be good for young people to socialize but that it can also have an influence on their lives.
"We know from the research that Facebook has done and tried to bury, that images on Instagram and Facebook do influence not only what kids will wear and how they will dress, but also diet and that's been a big stress point for teenagers, especially young girls, in seeing these carefully curated images and thinking that's the way I need to look,” said Crouch.
Lee-Baggley said there is a lot of research showing social media can be harmful for youth.
"There are studies showing that it can increase your depression, issues like body image, eating disorders, there's been some studies where actually they did an intervention and took people off social media and their depression got better as a result of getting off social media,” she said.
Social media isn’t going away. But experts say some of the problems can be fixed.
"There should be meaningful laws passed, not to regulate what average citizen x posts on Facebook but to regulate that algorithm and find out exactly what it's doing and how it's impacting people,” said Shipley.
"We got to work with the social media companies, government and civil society groups who will all come together to figure out how do we fix this problem, how do we address it and we'll develop regulations and policies and ideas on how to fix it,” added Crouch.
Crouch also encourages parents to have an open dialogue with their kids, and teach them that not everything they see on social media is real, and that there are consequences to what you post online.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Spring allergy season has begun. Where is it worse in Canada?
The spring allergy season has started early in many parts of Canada, with high levels of pollen in some cities already. Experts weigh in on which areas have it worse so far this season.
'Nonsense:' Doug Ford slams lawsuits filed by Ontario school boards against social media platforms
Premier Doug Ford says that lawsuits launched by four Ontario school boards against a trio of social media platforms are “nonsense” and risk becoming a distraction to the work that really matters.
Several flight attendants from Pakistan have gone missing after landing in Canada
Multiple flight attendants from Pakistan International Airlines have abandoned their jobs and are believed to have sought asylum in Canada in the past year and a half, a spokesperson for the government-owned airline says.
Record-breaking N.B. lottery winner kept winning ticket on dresser for nearly a year
A New Brunswicker will go to bed Thursday night much richer than he was Wednesday after collecting on a winning lottery ticket he let sit on his bedroom dresser for nearly a year.
Multiple bridges in Calgary shut down for police incident
Calgary police have shut down a number of bridges into and out of the downtown core as officers deal with a distraught individual.
King Charles calls for acts of friendship in first public remarks since Kate's cancer diagnosis
King Charles III gave public remarks for Maundy Thursday, addressing the importance of acts of friendship, following his and Catherine, Princess of Wales’ cancer diagnoses.
Fallen crypto mogul Sam Bankman-Fried sentenced to 25 years in prison
Crypto entrepreneur Sam Bankman-Fried was sentenced Thursday to 25 years in prison for a massive fraud that unravelled with the collapse of FTX, once one of the world's most popular platforms for exchanging digital currency.
A dog and a bird formed an unlikely friendship. Their separation has infuriated followers
Peggy is a stout and muscular Staffordshire bull terrier, and Molly is a magpie, an Australian bird best known for swooping on humans during breeding season, not for befriending dogs. But in an emotional video posted online, Peggy’s owners announced that the animals had been separated.
Tipping is off the table at this Toronto restaurant
A Toronto restaurant introduced a surprising new rule that reduced the cost of a meal and raised the salaries of staff.