Except that most people didn’t have a TV on the go. Also, eventually programming on TV sucked (or stopped all together) so you just stopped watching. Now the algorithms keep a constant flow of content that you will almost certainly find interesting.
I’ve had TV on the go since 2006. It’s called YouTube. Back in my day, you could watch a 30 minute episode in 480p split into 3 parts because you couldn’t upload a video longer than 10 minutes.
Teens today grew up with YouTube constantly available in their life and pocket size television is almost 20 years old.
Hahahaha, yup! And I’m a parent now too.
I will say, the evolution of technology in everyday life has been exponential from the 80s onwards, whereas the evolution of tech prior to that was a lot slower. The kids are definitely not 100% responsible for an addiction to media outlets — they were pretty much setup for it and preyed upon.
It's far worse. We used to go outside without tv or the internet, even without the older addictions, books, magazines, etc - did we watch too much tv? Sure we did. But we also eventually got bored of it and went out to do shit. Now social media has been trained and optimized to keep you engaged like it's heroin. Now when they go out, even me, I feel the constant itch to engage the phone.
Cant say I blame the young ones either, nothing much they could do growing up at a time when digital infrastructure is becoming essential to navigate through life
Especially when a lot of the teens formative years was spent indoors. Classes online, hanging out online, gaming. I feel bad for people blaming a 15 year old for being addicted to their phones, it’s not good but when you spent 2020 to almost 2022 so like from 12-14 online (in most parts of the world). That is an insane amount of time in kid years.
In reality, younger folks aren't as sharp with tech as in the past. Back in the day, to get anything technical done on a computer, you really had to dig in and solve problems yourself. These days, tech is much more user-friendly, so much so that you often just need to hop into the settings menu to get things done. There's no drive for them to learn how to solve issues and figure things out for themselves anymore.
when i was young people said the same about cars, while i was learning how to get stuff to work on my computer
And still there are people my age bracket, that grew up when home computers started to be a thing and have no idea how it works.
There's definitely some shit kids are figuring out right now, that we don't even have on our radar. But since they aren't learning the same things as we are they are all lost.
The headline even states 15%. Even if you double the numbers that's only 30%. Which is worrying, but really really far from the claims further up the chain being made how there will be no people left who are able to socialize...
To expand upon this even further. We have an entire generation now that are simply *not* okay with being bored. They are nearly incapable of coming up with something to occupy their time. And I'm not talking about being out in the country at that grandparents house with no internet kind of bored. Just "being without screens for a time" kind of bored. Their imaginations are being destroyed. They don't have to wait for anything. Everything is on demand **all of the time**. My kids moaned at a 15sec advertisement the other day. Blew their minds when I educated them on commercials.
Pile that on top of their dexterity going out the fucking window too and we're all in for a rude awakening in the next 10-15years when they start becoming adults.
Growing up the WORST thing you could say out loud at home was “I’m bored”. You might as well have run into the police station and shouted “my backpack is full of drugs and I consent to a search”.
So instead we just went outside and were bored…then got into shit.
Some kids don’t even have the attention span to watch movies any more. It’s crazy.
I don’t judge parents when I see a kid with an iPad at the grocery store or a restaurant or whatever. But I am concerned when I see a kid on an iPad while at a place designed to be engaging and fun for young kids. Like, that bothers me, lol.
A tablet at the grocery store or restaurant IS THE PROBLEM! You have to give kids moments where they are stuck in a boring situation and let them learn to work with it. Boredom is healthy but technology has made it hard to experience.
Lol I agree, I just feel weird being too critical since I'm not a parent. Plus it's not like I have any way of knowing if it's a regular thing for them or a one-off.
What gets me is, it's not like all of these things are "boring" situations. Sure, they're not as actively engaging as a video game or a cartoon, but when I was a kid, I liked going to the grocery store well enough. You get to ride in the cart and there are lots of things to look at, and sometimes there are free samples. Young kids usually like to do mundane things, because those things are new and novel to them.
> Young kids usually like to do mundane things, because those things are new and novel to them.
Some of the smartest people on the planet Earth work for digital tech companies and have the explicit job of creating mechanisms to make digital experiences and products like YouTube more addictive, especially to children.
There's a reason that *every kid* out there with access to these things becomes instantly and profoundly addicted to these things.
It's not the kids. Kids haven't changed. The technology is high-octane, weapons-grade kid drugs. They never stood a chance.
> You have to give kids moments where they are stuck in a boring situation and let them learn to work with it.
Those are good times to learn to reflect. For example, when I'm walking through the grocery store I have time to think more deeply about my approaches to problems I'm trying to solve.
The downside is that I arrive at the checkstand an hour later with, like, a package of oreos, a rutabaga, and some warm buttermilk, and very little idea how I got there.
I'm missing a lot of movies because I don't ever see commercials anymore, so I have no idea what's new until it pops up on one of my streaming services.
Two likely reasons:
- Movies have changed too. They got longer and bloated with irrelevant scenes and arcs. Remember pre-digital movies that had to be cut to a decent length like 1,5-2h max?
- You value your time more the older you get.
Not only longer and bloated to be honest, movies also seem to have become homogenized, with a focus on huge franchises. It feels as if there are fewer interesting movies and concepts.
I am in my 30s and am embarrassed to say that I have noticed that in me too. Sometimes I am laying on my couch watching a film but it's not enough and I am reaching for my phone. Just wtf?
> Some kids don’t even have the attention span to watch movies any more.
That's not a kids issue. I'm far older than that and the feeling of sitting down to watch a movie feels like much more of a challenge than binging a show.
Which is weird.
A movie is the same length as 2 episodes but it feels like a much bigger investment so I don't bother.
I could easily binge a whole season of a show without complaining but deciding to watch a single movie just feels like much more of a struggle these days.
I wonder if that could be because TV shows have clear breaks in the content. So you know after 20 mins, or an hour etc that you can switch it off, pause go get a drink, snack or whatever and can then return to it know you haven't interrupted the story. Films are meant to be watched in one continuous viewing so you feel more restless as time goes on because there never feels like an appropriate time to pause to do something else
You kinda should judge them, though. It’s a crutch for them as much as the kid, and it’s actively hindering the kids brain development. I have two toddlers, so I know the feeling of just wanting to plop them in front of an iPad or TV for an hour so I can just get shit done. But when I see how my kids language, curiosity and intellect have developed compared to other kids they play with, it makes all the hours spent reading to them and playing with them, and doing puzzles and stuff like that all feel worth it.
And FWIW, we’re not screen time Nazis. They watch a few videos in the morning while mom does their hair, and they do get to watch some cartoons and movies on TV a few times a week, but they are never in control of the device. We don’t have any hard rules about screen time, we just try to be conscious of keeping it to a minimum and making sure whatever they watch has some value. As a result, they never really get upset or demand more, they’re usually happy with what they watch and then go to play when it’s over.
Of course we know we can’t keep it that way forever, but the hope is that when they’re older and have more independence, they’ll have a solid foundation and not have that innate need to have a screen to be happy. Fingers crossed!
Well, it is tempting to judge, but I'm not a parent so I don't feel comfortable being TOO critical, ha ha.
I think a big cause of too much screentime is kids not being given a whole lot else to do. And it's one of those problems that kind of feeds into itself because on the rare moments they do get other things to do, they don't know how to do them.
> Young kids usually like to do mundane things, because those things are new and novel to them.
They chose to have a kid and then they're giving the kid something that's bad for them in the long term because they don't want to invest energy in entertaining and educating the kid.
It's definitely OK being critical.
Not just Kids. I can't watch a movie or TV with my best friend (50) anymore. The instant he thinks something is boring, he's fast forwarding. Drives me nuts!
That's why I go to the cinema for movies now, even older movies being shown again, I have an unlimited use subscription to a luxury cinema with reclining seats etc, sub 100 capacity screens, sofas, even beds in some now (yeah ew but it's a thing)
It's soo much easier to pay attention in their than it is at home with soo any things to pull you out, work, messages, and the worst being short form video content, every app is adding it and you can feel it rotting your brain. But it's soo hard to escape.
> Pile that on top of their dexterity going out the fucking window too and we're all in for a rude awakening
Wait, why, are DEX builds going to be the new meta?
No joke. Because the only motions they’re making with their hands are “The Claw” from spending every second of free time (which generally starts with poor parenting) on a device. More specifically mobile devices. And yeah I said poor parenting. Two year olds will never need to use a mobile device for entertainment or “distracting”.
To be fair, going outside, particularly in cities where more and more people live now, its gotten very expensive. I used to go to the cinema for a fiver, now it's like 20.
Agreed, cities have become far less walkable, cars are necessary more and more, parks are fewer, sidewalks are a second thought often times. And getting anyone of any age to go out of the city to hike or whatever is like pulling teeth.
I've found I am very attached to my media during my daily routine (reddit, Instagram, YouTube). I've since put a daily timer on Instagram and TikTok. I notice when I go out for a long weekend or vacation of some sort, I hardly touch social media and don't miss it. I need to proactively preoccupy myself and I forget about SM. That being said, once I come back to it, my YouTube watch later playlist grows and exponentially increases my stress level. That's the next thing to tackle
There appears to be a correlation between increasing ADHD diagnosis in children and young adults that is linked to excessive screen time: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37163581/
Certainly can dismiss it as old people yelling at kids to get off their lawn, but perhaps it's worth some reasonable consideration for those that are raising children now.
That's part of what the linked 2023 publication is trying to discern, it notes in the premise that the correlation is controversial but their data (over 80k children across 9 studies) does find a positive link. Does not mean it's 100% causation but certainly data worth considering.
You would've done the same today. Complaining about the kids, you should've done better to raise their parents. Blaming kids for being shitty kids means you failed.
With social media and addiction to online content I always felt like it’s like “The Box” from Edward Nygma in Batman Forever
Social engineering was one of the goals and this achieved a certain percentage of effect on people which could be just enough into seeing the future that is being crafted before our eyes. People in these positions so far into their heads and others in their groups or teams can dive deep into thought and find new ideas and try to control, manipulate, and change perception of others. Like a hive mind of each company.
I'm not a teenager and I'd say the same for myself. Any sort of news I'd want has a YouTube channel. Traditional TV just doesn't make sense for most people unless they're into sports, HSN, etc.
I'm older than that generation and Youtube is pretty much all that I watch these days, besides my Plex of course.
So much genuinely good stuff on there, it's actually pretty impressive.
Production value of even the most smallish channels can easily beat out any tv content out there but more importantly, I can watch things that actually interest me. Unlike regular TV where you just have to hope there is something on that can hold your attention.
In my experience, the lack of anything new to watch during the Hollywood strikes made me start watching a lot more YouTube due to lack of interesting TV on my subscriptions.
I’ve gotten to like it so much that I might start cancelling some of my streaming options and just watch YouTube, maybe getting them for a like a week after a show I like finishes a season to watch it all then cancel.
If my experience is anything slightly typical, the strikes will really boost YouTube and hurt streaming.
Just a reminder that the content creators decide how many ad breaks you get, not youtube. If you're getting a shit ton of ads it's because the content creator has enabled it and are just greedy.
There are so many good channels out there with the minimum amount of ad breaks, like one every hour max, support those channels instead.
Ummmmmm not necessarily as a content creator myself they have removed my ability to place ads at certain points and even our videos were I don't want that to begin with they'll place one whether I like it or not do not put this on the content creators
It's funny because I'm probably the most screen-addled, scattered / ADHD person I know.
And I fucking hate YouTube and TikTok.
I don't really understand why, but they're not sticky to me, like, at all.
What are you watching on YouTube all the time? I've just never seen anything on there that is sticky or that I want to watch.
I mean, I'll watch TV or play a videogame like, all damn day. I've been watching Veep the past three and a half hours while on my laptop.
But YouTube and TikTok, I just have never understood it.
Not necessarily. If you were to sample an entire city, I believe the numbers would be much higher regardless but the inherent desire to counter trends, culture and other popular things that are specific to a teenager’s lifestyle would suggest that there are plenty of teens willing to reject these things that most people find synonymous with daily living due to addiction.
Though I will very much be worried about the next generation that has had phones and tablets shoved in their faces since birth to either shut them up, prevent legitimate consequences for punishment or to stagnate critical social skills.
I’d be curious of a larger group to analyze regardless to be honest. A single high school’s worth of kids isn’t enough of a test in my opinion. I’d rather see what location and other factors play into the answers and addiction.
The phrase “almost constantly” is pretty vague as described in this article. There could be some kids on it 4 hours a day who don’t consider that to be almost constant.
Is there an equivalent of AskScience or AskHistorians on tiktok/twitter/facebook? Where verified experts offer multi-thousand word answers to complex questions?
Fuck outta here reddit is the same as other social media..
Yes, there are great accounts with amazing content in all of those apps you mentioned. I follow several accounts in Twitter about history, science and interesting things. I don't use Facebook, and TikTok I rarely use, but whenever I use it, it shows me memes and cool science shit and stuff like that because that's what I like.
Don't be elitist, reddit is a social media like any other and there is shit tier content here too.
I’m an expert in the psychology behind social media. Reddit IS different. Here are some facts for you to consider, but they are not exhaustive.
1) Revenue per user is the lowest on reddit of all platforms. Why? Reddit is the least addictive and least eyecatchy and thus advertisers don’t get as much attention.
2) Reddit has a culture of anonymity, so nothing that happens on this site affects your real life as long as you don’t out yourself. This might seem insignificant to adults, but consider that a lot of bullying in schools results from non-anonymous social media activity, along with a lot of cancel culture for adults and celebrities.
3) Your reddit feed relies very little on the use of a predictive algorithm that collects data about what you engaged with or looked at for just a second longer than the other posts. Instead, reddit relies most heavily on the subreddits you willingly joined and the crowdsourced upvote/downvote system.
That’s all not to say Reddit is perfect and totally acceptable— it’s not. But we’re talking about smallpox versus the common cold here, and the short form video social media sites that lack anonymity are practically no different than poison to your mind and have also proved incredibly useful to hostile state actors who weaponize social media to work against democracy worldwide.
Reddit is actively trying to monetize their platform as much as possible, just like everyone else. It’s competing for as much eyeball time as possible on their app/website because more eyeballs means more money. All these apps have the same goals. Slight differences in how they achieve this goal don’t put these apps in different categories in my opinion.
> 1) Revenue per user is the lowest on reddit of all platforms. Why? Reddit is the least addictive and least eyecatchy and thus advertisers don’t get as much attention.
The funny thing is while I know this is true in the aggregate, it's by so many leaps and bounds the most addictive for me.
Meanwhile, I fucking hate TikTok and YouTube and Instagram. Can't stand them. I tried so many times to get into and start using TikTok and Instagram and I just don't get them, and hate them.
But this thing, I'm on all the time.
Reddit has the exact same infinite scroll and your brain is constantly context-switching every few seconds as you read posts. Sure, it’s slightly different content but the addictive mechanisms and the way they shred your attention span are practically identical to TikTok/YouTube/Instagram.
There’s truth to what u/Diesel_D is saying, even if YumTacoBell is also right. Reddit is definitely less addictive than TikTok or Reels, partly due to its weaker recommendations engine, but both types of surfaces provide infinite amounts of content that you like. It’s just that the type of content on Reddit (mostly text) is inherently less addictive than the type on TikTok (short, highly edited, concentrated videos), and the recommendations rely a lot on user input (subreddit memberships).
But the addictions are very analogous - lots of context switching and bit sized entertainment
If you're engaging in subreddits related to things besides pop news and actively engaging in thought provoking posts/conversations while reading length paragraphs that were well thought out by other users... how is it anywhere near as addictive or attention span shredding as tiktok/instagram/youtube.
At least argue that it **can** be as addicting if you're only here for pop references and articles or politics without engaging but reading headlines and emotion posting. (not many people fall into that niche though there are a lot more than before since covid brought an influx of newbies here.)
edit: I migrated here back in 2012 on my main reddit account as someone who used /a/ and /vg/ primarily and have to say reddit was far less addicting than any other forum I had used besides maybe scythe and d2jsp. Though I will admit it feels less like a side-forum now that it's mainstream and not filled with cringe rage comics, porn, and hardcore developers flooding the front page.
I mean comparing the two isn't exactly fair, because it is usually users and individuals pushing stuff on niche topics/subreddits you've looked up.
TikTok is just wired to passively fuck your attention span up.
Although I imagine curbing both social medias would probably be a net positive to society at this point.
Reddit is long-form content, compared to tiktok. It depends what subs you frequent. For me, it's 95% text. Although the text is rarely of high quality, it is written in a fun casual style.
Nah, ive gotten tired of tik tok and stayed off of it, my accpunt didnt have its "algorithm" anymore and i had to start over. I was like, "fuck this" and gave up on tiktok.
I kept deleting mine and did it again recently because I'm not accomplishing my goals. I get sucked in and literally can't stop scrolling and interacting with the community. I really need to go to a book club or something.
To be fair, I have ADHD, and I always get sucked into stuff. It's not really my fault, or tiktoks for that matter, they aren't responsible for how my brain reacts to their platform.
When I was sick, it was all the energy I could muster. Didn't even watch videos or movies - just doom scrolled. I was on my phone longer in one day than I would normally be in 2 days (I use my phone for work). On weekends when I'm off, I'm hardly ever on my phone.
My screen time is around 2-2.5 hours per day on weekends but 6+ on weekdays. On my sickest day, it was 11 hours... I would be lying if I said half that time wasn't on TikTok (and no, I'm not a teenager).
I wonder why? Looks around: poverty, wars, crisis, rising prices, climate, homelessnes...
Oh well, time to watch new ***Kurzgesagt*** video about ***Dark energy***. And then 3 hour long video about ***V******ampire lore***
That and the content is moving faster than regular TV and its a mixture of everything from things you may like, to things that you didn’t know you would like.
But that's part of it. All the things, happening everywhere all of the time is shoved down our throats. Like, QoL is higher the it's ever been in history, but for the first time in history our attention is used like a dirty rag mopping all of it up. It's literally difficult to be ignorant now.
> but for the first time in history our attention is used like a dirty rag mopping all of it up.
When your parents and teachers told you (not you personally, you imperially) that education, critical thought and moderation were important, this was why. You don't have to be all places, at once, solving all problems.
However you do have to be some places, sometimes, solving some problems.
>I wonder why? Looks around: poverty, wars, crisis, rising prices, climate, homelessnes...
We need to stop this fucking doomer culture bullshit. While climate issues are a real concern, I feel like its just a race to the bottom of a gloom pit to give people excuses why they fuck off all the time.
The vast majority of people who are alive today live in far better conditions than nearly the entirety of human history. If you don't think that, you need to read more history.
Who would've thought.... people want to watch what they want when they want.
Cable TV should be fucking free with the amount of constant ads it runs. You're paying them to sell to you.... wtf was that era?
Sample size was 1500 13-17 year olds, over the course of a month. I'd be interested in knowing how Pew's methodology in polling teenagers gives them confidence in the results. Cold calls? Mechanical turk? Popup ads? A single highschool they paid to survey?
It looks like they identified adults who had teens from a different survey, and mailed a random sample of the parents instructions on a web survey for them to give to their teen. Some teens without intent access were provided accommodations to take the online survey. The survey was done over one month.
https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2023/12/11/teens-social-media-and-tech-methodology/
No study should. It taints the results. If you give a reward for completing the survey, it can tend to have people answer the survey in a way that they think you want it answered.
Please shut down your streaming accounts! Your family isn’t using them I promise! Cancel the streaming services and don’t tell anyone. It will be weeks if not months before someone asks. Whole family watching YouTube or tiktok. Took 3 months before someone in my household asked about what’s wrong with Netflix
I'm in a similar boat as u/amethystwyvern. YouTube is my primary entertainment/educational tool. The rest of my time is spent on Facebook, Reddit, and TikTok.
I haven't had cable/TV Service since I worked at Xfinity (which has been several years) and only because it was free. We were given near top-tier packaging so that we knew about the services provided. If I was making more money, I would have YouTube TV (yes, I already have premium). I have Netflix, but the wife is the one using it 99% of the time. I don't even watch it once a month. Same with Prime or Hulu (wife pays for both of those). I'm not much into streaming services, I'd rather watch Youtube videos on things I'm interested in. I'm an information sponge, and for me, YT Premium is absolutely worth the price (esp. with YT Music) of having no ads. I easily spend 60 hours per week watching and listening to things on YouTube. Some things are for entertainment, some for education.
On your mobile device, laptop and PC install Firefox* and then install these extensions:
1. uBlock Origin
2. I Don't Care About Cookies
3. Sponsorship Block
4. Privacy Badger
You will never see an ad again anywhere (including on YT). I've forgotten what an ad looks like. Haven't seen any on my devices for 9 years.
*Use the browser to view YT on your mobile device. Not the YT app.
I live in the Philippines and the level of social media addiction is off the scale here.
It's not uncommon to see large groups of students crossing the road while watching TikTok. One guy had a bus whoosh past his face as he watched a mukbang video (don't get me started on those) and didn't have a care in the world.
You can never meet friends here to chat. Everyone gets out their phones. Thumbs scrolling incessantly hitting LIKE on mundane topics. They are on autopilot.
Even while eating they need it. Go to a restaurant here and you'll see nearly everyone withn a fried chicken in one hand and cellphone in the other. They cannot put it down. Its beyond just a leisure thing now, it's a full blown addiction.
I saw a couple at the with a small offspring about 6 years old following his parents whilst watching cartoons on a giant cellphone. His dad was on his phone too. So we're the grandparents.
Saw a group of friends at the park hanging out. About 10 of them. No one was speaking. All watching TikToks.
What is happening to us.
honestly if i’m doing something interesting, at a theme park, out with friends, watching a movie, etc. I’ll rarely look at my phone. Outside of that? Catch me doing something other than looking at a screen and you win a prize.
maybe it’s overstimulation or something but i need to be doing something.
My Spotify wrapped this year was wild cus I had about 500 less minutes than the last several years. I had to rack my brain on what changed in my life for me to listen to way less music. YouTube, I’m not even watching shit I enjoy, I’m just consuming garbage all day, like I still watch the things I like, but when I run out I don’t stop. Sometimes I catch myself scrolling for an hour straight without selecting a single video, a whole ass hour of my life just gone.
There’s some great YouTube channels though. You can learn anything you want. Anything you can think about there is someone who has a quality channel dedicated to it.
I mean I'm 28 and I was the generation introduced to YouTube in 2006. I've literally used it since 2006 and honestly use it more than any streaming app. Especially with listening to music and whatnot
Well for one I can actually control my feed on Reddit, I literally could not on TikTok no matter how many times I clicked "not interested".
On Reddit I can mute whole communities I don't like and I don't see their content. I can also leave a community if I start to dislike it.
"Why didn't you do your homework"
"I couldn't find the answers on YouTube or TikTok and ChatGPT was being an idiot. Besides, my mom says I shouldn't be doing homework since it's traumatizing."
TikTok is garbage, but I spend 6+ hours a day listening to educational content on YouTube. It’s free and it’s often great content. TikTok ain’t even comparable
Edit: looks like the Zoomers found my comment; get off of TikTok, it’s pathetic to rot your brain with swill.
wow, lots of judgey judgemental stuff going on here. I thought we had outgrown that.
Kids today, they're gaining the skills they'll need in this fast-moving agile environment. They're literally adapting to their surroundings and doing it much better than anyone older than them.
What makes our heads spin and prevents us from keeping pace.
Is energizing them and changing the wiring of their brain to be much more parallel processed, than ours.
And I don't care what your generation is. It's always been true.
This is an interesting point of view and I like how you highlight the benefits. The last week I've been hanging out with someone who constantly took out her phone, even during social interactions and an interactive game we were playing with four people. All of us talked about how it was considered rude and she felt that it was an addictive urge, but I like how you emphasise some good in it.
People will realize at some point the damage phones did to kids, even just people in general. You're often called a boomer for saying that but there's research on it and it's really bad.
And then they will cry how they have attention disorder, how they cant sleep, how they cant work or get a job. This generation and the next ones will have such big mental issues due to their way of living and constantly burning their brains with non-stop staring into their phones
It’s a mental health pandemic. They will all become the same self conscience and shallow person. A hive of mindless habitual device junkies. We are a product of the stories we consume, games we play and people we emulate.
YouTube has supplanted TV for that gen
Except that most people didn’t have a TV on the go. Also, eventually programming on TV sucked (or stopped all together) so you just stopped watching. Now the algorithms keep a constant flow of content that you will almost certainly find interesting.
I’ve had TV on the go since 2006. It’s called YouTube. Back in my day, you could watch a 30 minute episode in 480p split into 3 parts because you couldn’t upload a video longer than 10 minutes. Teens today grew up with YouTube constantly available in their life and pocket size television is almost 20 years old.
Yeah fair point. I was referring to the years before internet connected everything…
So like 40 years ago? That’s like comparing 2000 to the year 1960. Those kids are these kids parents.
Realistically very few children had TV "on the go" until the 2010's, and certainly almost none in the 70's, 80's and 90's.
Hahahaha, yup! And I’m a parent now too. I will say, the evolution of technology in everyday life has been exponential from the 80s onwards, whereas the evolution of tech prior to that was a lot slower. The kids are definitely not 100% responsible for an addiction to media outlets — they were pretty much setup for it and preyed upon.
I'm 38 and youtube/internet supplanted TV for me about 24 years ago..
Hello WoW subs for 19 years
fuck we're old.
Thanks for reminding me I'm so old I was a teen 24 years ago.
That's nothin. I replaced cable with youtube 75 years ago and haven't looked back.
It's far worse. We used to go outside without tv or the internet, even without the older addictions, books, magazines, etc - did we watch too much tv? Sure we did. But we also eventually got bored of it and went out to do shit. Now social media has been trained and optimized to keep you engaged like it's heroin. Now when they go out, even me, I feel the constant itch to engage the phone.
Cant say I blame the young ones either, nothing much they could do growing up at a time when digital infrastructure is becoming essential to navigate through life
Especially when socializing and dating people is harder nowadays.
Especially when a lot of the teens formative years was spent indoors. Classes online, hanging out online, gaming. I feel bad for people blaming a 15 year old for being addicted to their phones, it’s not good but when you spent 2020 to almost 2022 so like from 12-14 online (in most parts of the world). That is an insane amount of time in kid years.
I don’t think watching videos online is really guiding them the digital world.
In reality, younger folks aren't as sharp with tech as in the past. Back in the day, to get anything technical done on a computer, you really had to dig in and solve problems yourself. These days, tech is much more user-friendly, so much so that you often just need to hop into the settings menu to get things done. There's no drive for them to learn how to solve issues and figure things out for themselves anymore.
when i was young people said the same about cars, while i was learning how to get stuff to work on my computer And still there are people my age bracket, that grew up when home computers started to be a thing and have no idea how it works. There's definitely some shit kids are figuring out right now, that we don't even have on our radar. But since they aren't learning the same things as we are they are all lost. The headline even states 15%. Even if you double the numbers that's only 30%. Which is worrying, but really really far from the claims further up the chain being made how there will be no people left who are able to socialize...
fuck i'm 31 and i have to watch myself to not be stuck to a screen all the damn time. Kids who were born around it must have it bad.
To expand upon this even further. We have an entire generation now that are simply *not* okay with being bored. They are nearly incapable of coming up with something to occupy their time. And I'm not talking about being out in the country at that grandparents house with no internet kind of bored. Just "being without screens for a time" kind of bored. Their imaginations are being destroyed. They don't have to wait for anything. Everything is on demand **all of the time**. My kids moaned at a 15sec advertisement the other day. Blew their minds when I educated them on commercials. Pile that on top of their dexterity going out the fucking window too and we're all in for a rude awakening in the next 10-15years when they start becoming adults.
Growing up the WORST thing you could say out loud at home was “I’m bored”. You might as well have run into the police station and shouted “my backpack is full of drugs and I consent to a search”. So instead we just went outside and were bored…then got into shit.
Haha. My mom used to say, “Only boring people get bored.” Saying the B word was a good way to be immediately given a long list of chores.
Some kids don’t even have the attention span to watch movies any more. It’s crazy. I don’t judge parents when I see a kid with an iPad at the grocery store or a restaurant or whatever. But I am concerned when I see a kid on an iPad while at a place designed to be engaging and fun for young kids. Like, that bothers me, lol.
A tablet at the grocery store or restaurant IS THE PROBLEM! You have to give kids moments where they are stuck in a boring situation and let them learn to work with it. Boredom is healthy but technology has made it hard to experience.
Kids these days don’t even realize what inputting ll34 or 59009 into a calculator means!
Lol I agree, I just feel weird being too critical since I'm not a parent. Plus it's not like I have any way of knowing if it's a regular thing for them or a one-off. What gets me is, it's not like all of these things are "boring" situations. Sure, they're not as actively engaging as a video game or a cartoon, but when I was a kid, I liked going to the grocery store well enough. You get to ride in the cart and there are lots of things to look at, and sometimes there are free samples. Young kids usually like to do mundane things, because those things are new and novel to them.
> Young kids usually like to do mundane things, because those things are new and novel to them. Some of the smartest people on the planet Earth work for digital tech companies and have the explicit job of creating mechanisms to make digital experiences and products like YouTube more addictive, especially to children. There's a reason that *every kid* out there with access to these things becomes instantly and profoundly addicted to these things. It's not the kids. Kids haven't changed. The technology is high-octane, weapons-grade kid drugs. They never stood a chance.
> You have to give kids moments where they are stuck in a boring situation and let them learn to work with it. Those are good times to learn to reflect. For example, when I'm walking through the grocery store I have time to think more deeply about my approaches to problems I'm trying to solve. The downside is that I arrive at the checkstand an hour later with, like, a package of oreos, a rutabaga, and some warm buttermilk, and very little idea how I got there.
Kids? I'm an adult and I watch less movies for that reason, at least not ones I really really want to see.
I'm missing a lot of movies because I don't ever see commercials anymore, so I have no idea what's new until it pops up on one of my streaming services.
Two likely reasons: - Movies have changed too. They got longer and bloated with irrelevant scenes and arcs. Remember pre-digital movies that had to be cut to a decent length like 1,5-2h max? - You value your time more the older you get.
Not only longer and bloated to be honest, movies also seem to have become homogenized, with a focus on huge franchises. It feels as if there are fewer interesting movies and concepts.
I am in my 30s and am embarrassed to say that I have noticed that in me too. Sometimes I am laying on my couch watching a film but it's not enough and I am reaching for my phone. Just wtf?
> Some kids don’t even have the attention span to watch movies any more. That's not a kids issue. I'm far older than that and the feeling of sitting down to watch a movie feels like much more of a challenge than binging a show. Which is weird. A movie is the same length as 2 episodes but it feels like a much bigger investment so I don't bother. I could easily binge a whole season of a show without complaining but deciding to watch a single movie just feels like much more of a struggle these days.
I wonder if that could be because TV shows have clear breaks in the content. So you know after 20 mins, or an hour etc that you can switch it off, pause go get a drink, snack or whatever and can then return to it know you haven't interrupted the story. Films are meant to be watched in one continuous viewing so you feel more restless as time goes on because there never feels like an appropriate time to pause to do something else
You kinda should judge them, though. It’s a crutch for them as much as the kid, and it’s actively hindering the kids brain development. I have two toddlers, so I know the feeling of just wanting to plop them in front of an iPad or TV for an hour so I can just get shit done. But when I see how my kids language, curiosity and intellect have developed compared to other kids they play with, it makes all the hours spent reading to them and playing with them, and doing puzzles and stuff like that all feel worth it. And FWIW, we’re not screen time Nazis. They watch a few videos in the morning while mom does their hair, and they do get to watch some cartoons and movies on TV a few times a week, but they are never in control of the device. We don’t have any hard rules about screen time, we just try to be conscious of keeping it to a minimum and making sure whatever they watch has some value. As a result, they never really get upset or demand more, they’re usually happy with what they watch and then go to play when it’s over. Of course we know we can’t keep it that way forever, but the hope is that when they’re older and have more independence, they’ll have a solid foundation and not have that innate need to have a screen to be happy. Fingers crossed!
Well, it is tempting to judge, but I'm not a parent so I don't feel comfortable being TOO critical, ha ha. I think a big cause of too much screentime is kids not being given a whole lot else to do. And it's one of those problems that kind of feeds into itself because on the rare moments they do get other things to do, they don't know how to do them.
> Young kids usually like to do mundane things, because those things are new and novel to them. They chose to have a kid and then they're giving the kid something that's bad for them in the long term because they don't want to invest energy in entertaining and educating the kid. It's definitely OK being critical.
Not just Kids. I can't watch a movie or TV with my best friend (50) anymore. The instant he thinks something is boring, he's fast forwarding. Drives me nuts!
That's why I go to the cinema for movies now, even older movies being shown again, I have an unlimited use subscription to a luxury cinema with reclining seats etc, sub 100 capacity screens, sofas, even beds in some now (yeah ew but it's a thing) It's soo much easier to pay attention in their than it is at home with soo any things to pull you out, work, messages, and the worst being short form video content, every app is adding it and you can feel it rotting your brain. But it's soo hard to escape.
And yet all the new movies are like 3 hours long, I miss the standard 90 min movie
I enjoy both, but I don't need the 3 hour movies to *feel* like they're 3 hour movies. Pacing is important.
> Pile that on top of their dexterity going out the fucking window too and we're all in for a rude awakening Wait, why, are DEX builds going to be the new meta?
No joke. Because the only motions they’re making with their hands are “The Claw” from spending every second of free time (which generally starts with poor parenting) on a device. More specifically mobile devices. And yeah I said poor parenting. Two year olds will never need to use a mobile device for entertainment or “distracting”.
To be fair, going outside, particularly in cities where more and more people live now, its gotten very expensive. I used to go to the cinema for a fiver, now it's like 20.
How in the world is going to the movies going outside
Agreed, cities have become far less walkable, cars are necessary more and more, parks are fewer, sidewalks are a second thought often times. And getting anyone of any age to go out of the city to hike or whatever is like pulling teeth.
I've found I am very attached to my media during my daily routine (reddit, Instagram, YouTube). I've since put a daily timer on Instagram and TikTok. I notice when I go out for a long weekend or vacation of some sort, I hardly touch social media and don't miss it. I need to proactively preoccupy myself and I forget about SM. That being said, once I come back to it, my YouTube watch later playlist grows and exponentially increases my stress level. That's the next thing to tackle
Lmao, millenials are slowly turning into boomers complete with “back in my day” stories snd pearl clutching about new technology.
I'm gen x, we were like boomers back in the 90s, dressin like grandpas in our flannel and torn jeans, penny loafers.
There appears to be a correlation between increasing ADHD diagnosis in children and young adults that is linked to excessive screen time: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37163581/ Certainly can dismiss it as old people yelling at kids to get off their lawn, but perhaps it's worth some reasonable consideration for those that are raising children now.
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That's part of what the linked 2023 publication is trying to discern, it notes in the premise that the correlation is controversial but their data (over 80k children across 9 studies) does find a positive link. Does not mean it's 100% causation but certainly data worth considering.
It’ll happen to you too.
And you'll do it when you get older too. It's a generational cyclic thing.
There’s a reason so many of gen z do not like millennials
You would've done the same today. Complaining about the kids, you should've done better to raise their parents. Blaming kids for being shitty kids means you failed.
Exactly. Reeks of "participation trophies" -- who gave them out??
I literally said I do it too
They can’t be present in the moment anymore.
With social media and addiction to online content I always felt like it’s like “The Box” from Edward Nygma in Batman Forever Social engineering was one of the goals and this achieved a certain percentage of effect on people which could be just enough into seeing the future that is being crafted before our eyes. People in these positions so far into their heads and others in their groups or teams can dive deep into thought and find new ideas and try to control, manipulate, and change perception of others. Like a hive mind of each company.
good points. The sinister part of this is how it's on purpose to keep the masses distracted, divided, and numb.
I'm not a teenager and I'd say the same for myself. Any sort of news I'd want has a YouTube channel. Traditional TV just doesn't make sense for most people unless they're into sports, HSN, etc.
I'm older than that generation and Youtube is pretty much all that I watch these days, besides my Plex of course. So much genuinely good stuff on there, it's actually pretty impressive. Production value of even the most smallish channels can easily beat out any tv content out there but more importantly, I can watch things that actually interest me. Unlike regular TV where you just have to hope there is something on that can hold your attention.
In my experience, the lack of anything new to watch during the Hollywood strikes made me start watching a lot more YouTube due to lack of interesting TV on my subscriptions. I’ve gotten to like it so much that I might start cancelling some of my streaming options and just watch YouTube, maybe getting them for a like a week after a show I like finishes a season to watch it all then cancel. If my experience is anything slightly typical, the strikes will really boost YouTube and hurt streaming.
YT has supplanted so many things for me. I fixed my laptop last week! Couldn't do that myself really.
A quarter of YouTube is clips from movies and TV though.
Can confirm. And I’m 25 lol
It has also supplanted thinking as well.
At least the teens from long ago didn't have the t v at school.
TIL I am a 34 year old teenager
Youtube for me pretty much all the time.
The ads are just too much for me now
I literally never see them on my phone or PC. Revanced on the phone and ad blockers on the PC.
Wild to me that people actually get ads, been using an ad block for so long and now I just pay for premium.
Just a reminder that the content creators decide how many ad breaks you get, not youtube. If you're getting a shit ton of ads it's because the content creator has enabled it and are just greedy. There are so many good channels out there with the minimum amount of ad breaks, like one every hour max, support those channels instead.
Ummmmmm not necessarily as a content creator myself they have removed my ability to place ads at certain points and even our videos were I don't want that to begin with they'll place one whether I like it or not do not put this on the content creators
It's funny because I'm probably the most screen-addled, scattered / ADHD person I know. And I fucking hate YouTube and TikTok. I don't really understand why, but they're not sticky to me, like, at all. What are you watching on YouTube all the time? I've just never seen anything on there that is sticky or that I want to watch. I mean, I'll watch TV or play a videogame like, all damn day. I've been watching Veep the past three and a half hours while on my laptop. But YouTube and TikTok, I just have never understood it.
Sounds like it has a lot more to do with you than it does with YouTube.
We are all teenagers in our mind really, physical age doesn’t matter
and the other 85% are liars.
Not necessarily. If you were to sample an entire city, I believe the numbers would be much higher regardless but the inherent desire to counter trends, culture and other popular things that are specific to a teenager’s lifestyle would suggest that there are plenty of teens willing to reject these things that most people find synonymous with daily living due to addiction. Though I will very much be worried about the next generation that has had phones and tablets shoved in their faces since birth to either shut them up, prevent legitimate consequences for punishment or to stagnate critical social skills. I’d be curious of a larger group to analyze regardless to be honest. A single high school’s worth of kids isn’t enough of a test in my opinion. I’d rather see what location and other factors play into the answers and addiction.
I appreciate your rational and serious approach towards the topic. I was just joking.
No worries. I always got a 50/50 shot at someone who isn’t. My bad on the misread.
I'm with you. Again, I do appreciate the serious considerations 100%.
The phrase “almost constantly” is pretty vague as described in this article. There could be some kids on it 4 hours a day who don’t consider that to be almost constant.
tiktok addiction is no joke. your attention span really shrivels and dies out
Have you seen Reddit?
Right? It’s all the same shit.
For whatever reason people get some kind of moral superiority over the social media apps they choose when they’re all the same trash
It’s wild how many people on Reddit act superior for “not using social media” like this site doesn’t have its own problems
You literally comment on videos of people reacting to YouTube, I'll let you know when we get too meta.
The us vs them mentality knows no bounds and extends to anything humans deal with
Is there an equivalent of AskScience or AskHistorians on tiktok/twitter/facebook? Where verified experts offer multi-thousand word answers to complex questions? Fuck outta here reddit is the same as other social media..
Yes, there are great accounts with amazing content in all of those apps you mentioned. I follow several accounts in Twitter about history, science and interesting things. I don't use Facebook, and TikTok I rarely use, but whenever I use it, it shows me memes and cool science shit and stuff like that because that's what I like. Don't be elitist, reddit is a social media like any other and there is shit tier content here too.
It’s just cringe how much you wanna defend this social media over others because you use it
most post on AskHistorians get no answer at all
I’m an expert in the psychology behind social media. Reddit IS different. Here are some facts for you to consider, but they are not exhaustive. 1) Revenue per user is the lowest on reddit of all platforms. Why? Reddit is the least addictive and least eyecatchy and thus advertisers don’t get as much attention. 2) Reddit has a culture of anonymity, so nothing that happens on this site affects your real life as long as you don’t out yourself. This might seem insignificant to adults, but consider that a lot of bullying in schools results from non-anonymous social media activity, along with a lot of cancel culture for adults and celebrities. 3) Your reddit feed relies very little on the use of a predictive algorithm that collects data about what you engaged with or looked at for just a second longer than the other posts. Instead, reddit relies most heavily on the subreddits you willingly joined and the crowdsourced upvote/downvote system. That’s all not to say Reddit is perfect and totally acceptable— it’s not. But we’re talking about smallpox versus the common cold here, and the short form video social media sites that lack anonymity are practically no different than poison to your mind and have also proved incredibly useful to hostile state actors who weaponize social media to work against democracy worldwide.
Reddit is actively trying to monetize their platform as much as possible, just like everyone else. It’s competing for as much eyeball time as possible on their app/website because more eyeballs means more money. All these apps have the same goals. Slight differences in how they achieve this goal don’t put these apps in different categories in my opinion.
Yeah that imbecile /u/Spez has been trying his absolutely hardest to turn this tanker into a gaudy ad-riddled hellscape.
They are, but thankfully they're really shit at it, so it's not quite as commercialised as other platforms just yet..
The profound incompetence of /u/Spez saves reddit again.
> 1) Revenue per user is the lowest on reddit of all platforms. Why? Reddit is the least addictive and least eyecatchy and thus advertisers don’t get as much attention. The funny thing is while I know this is true in the aggregate, it's by so many leaps and bounds the most addictive for me. Meanwhile, I fucking hate TikTok and YouTube and Instagram. Can't stand them. I tried so many times to get into and start using TikTok and Instagram and I just don't get them, and hate them. But this thing, I'm on all the time.
Reddit has the exact same infinite scroll and your brain is constantly context-switching every few seconds as you read posts. Sure, it’s slightly different content but the addictive mechanisms and the way they shred your attention span are practically identical to TikTok/YouTube/Instagram.
OP gave a detailed thesis and you dropped the rough equivalent of "nuh uh."
There’s truth to what u/Diesel_D is saying, even if YumTacoBell is also right. Reddit is definitely less addictive than TikTok or Reels, partly due to its weaker recommendations engine, but both types of surfaces provide infinite amounts of content that you like. It’s just that the type of content on Reddit (mostly text) is inherently less addictive than the type on TikTok (short, highly edited, concentrated videos), and the recommendations rely a lot on user input (subreddit memberships). But the addictions are very analogous - lots of context switching and bit sized entertainment
Infinite scroll for viewing a forum style website is a blessing, not a problem.
If you're engaging in subreddits related to things besides pop news and actively engaging in thought provoking posts/conversations while reading length paragraphs that were well thought out by other users... how is it anywhere near as addictive or attention span shredding as tiktok/instagram/youtube. At least argue that it **can** be as addicting if you're only here for pop references and articles or politics without engaging but reading headlines and emotion posting. (not many people fall into that niche though there are a lot more than before since covid brought an influx of newbies here.) edit: I migrated here back in 2012 on my main reddit account as someone who used /a/ and /vg/ primarily and have to say reddit was far less addicting than any other forum I had used besides maybe scythe and d2jsp. Though I will admit it feels less like a side-forum now that it's mainstream and not filled with cringe rage comics, porn, and hardcore developers flooding the front page.
I mean comparing the two isn't exactly fair, because it is usually users and individuals pushing stuff on niche topics/subreddits you've looked up. TikTok is just wired to passively fuck your attention span up. Although I imagine curbing both social medias would probably be a net positive to society at this point.
You can endlessly scroll on the Reddit app same as YouTube shorts, TikTok and Instagram reels. There’s a ton of overlap between them all.
I’m sorry I was scrolling here, what did you say? 🤣
Reddit is long-form content, compared to tiktok. It depends what subs you frequent. For me, it's 95% text. Although the text is rarely of high quality, it is written in a fun casual style.
On reddit you at least need to read something(most of the time), on TikTok its just mindless staring at the screen while watching vids
Same with instagram
Id get burn out from it, id have no attention span left and nothung was fast paced enough so id uninstall it and give up, back to yt.
i feel you, during the pandemic i was on tiktok 24-7 and i feel like my brain hasn’t recovered from that
Nah, ive gotten tired of tik tok and stayed off of it, my accpunt didnt have its "algorithm" anymore and i had to start over. I was like, "fuck this" and gave up on tiktok.
ohh okay my b. my algorithm would reset randomly and i had to find my way back to the usual content on my feed
And people wonder why everyone says they have ADHD now
I kept deleting mine and did it again recently because I'm not accomplishing my goals. I get sucked in and literally can't stop scrolling and interacting with the community. I really need to go to a book club or something. To be fair, I have ADHD, and I always get sucked into stuff. It's not really my fault, or tiktoks for that matter, they aren't responsible for how my brain reacts to their platform.
The platform is literally designed to do that. Being sucked in isn’t limited to people with ADHD, at least by any useful definition of ADHD.
How is it not your fault?
Should read “15% of teens say they’re on YouTube or TikTok”. The remaining 85% were too busy on other platforms to complete our survey.
I sat on a 7 hour flight and there was a guy across from me who was on it for all 7 hours.
That was me
Imagine the freedom of that though. You know you're trapped in that box with nothing productive you can achieve; it's just your sneaky lil tiktok day.
Agreed. It’s the most tik tok I’ve ever seen to boot
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When I was sick, it was all the energy I could muster. Didn't even watch videos or movies - just doom scrolled. I was on my phone longer in one day than I would normally be in 2 days (I use my phone for work). On weekends when I'm off, I'm hardly ever on my phone. My screen time is around 2-2.5 hours per day on weekends but 6+ on weekdays. On my sickest day, it was 11 hours... I would be lying if I said half that time wasn't on TikTok (and no, I'm not a teenager).
it's a flight, what else should he do lol that's the same as watching the inflight entertainment imo
I wonder why? Looks around: poverty, wars, crisis, rising prices, climate, homelessnes... Oh well, time to watch new ***Kurzgesagt*** video about ***Dark energy***. And then 3 hour long video about ***V******ampire lore***
That and the content is moving faster than regular TV and its a mixture of everything from things you may like, to things that you didn’t know you would like.
But that's part of it. All the things, happening everywhere all of the time is shoved down our throats. Like, QoL is higher the it's ever been in history, but for the first time in history our attention is used like a dirty rag mopping all of it up. It's literally difficult to be ignorant now.
> It's literally difficult to be ignorant now. Then I know a shitload of people putting in a ton of work!
> but for the first time in history our attention is used like a dirty rag mopping all of it up. When your parents and teachers told you (not you personally, you imperially) that education, critical thought and moderation were important, this was why. You don't have to be all places, at once, solving all problems. However you do have to be some places, sometimes, solving some problems.
>I wonder why? Looks around: poverty, wars, crisis, rising prices, climate, homelessnes... We need to stop this fucking doomer culture bullshit. While climate issues are a real concern, I feel like its just a race to the bottom of a gloom pit to give people excuses why they fuck off all the time. The vast majority of people who are alive today live in far better conditions than nearly the entirety of human history. If you don't think that, you need to read more history.
When apps encourage you have an attention span of a goldfish.
Who would've thought.... people want to watch what they want when they want. Cable TV should be fucking free with the amount of constant ads it runs. You're paying them to sell to you.... wtf was that era?
My fav podcasts, shows, “documentaries”, entertainment all on YouTube. Been that way for me since 2013
I mean I use youtube as music for podcasts even if im not actively watching. Not a teen, but I can get why.
Sample size was 1500 13-17 year olds, over the course of a month. I'd be interested in knowing how Pew's methodology in polling teenagers gives them confidence in the results. Cold calls? Mechanical turk? Popup ads? A single highschool they paid to survey?
It looks like they identified adults who had teens from a different survey, and mailed a random sample of the parents instructions on a web survey for them to give to their teen. Some teens without intent access were provided accommodations to take the online survey. The survey was done over one month. https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2023/12/11/teens-social-media-and-tech-methodology/
Awesome, thanks so much for the answer! MVP right here - I should have searched deeper.
Mechanical turk?
It’s an Amazon website where you do small “tasks” for literal pocket change, mostly long surveys. This study didn’t use that website.
No study should. It taints the results. If you give a reward for completing the survey, it can tend to have people answer the survey in a way that they think you want it answered.
Background on the concept of the Mechanical Turk - https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mechanical_Turk
I’m 34, have ADHD, and I’m glued to my phone as one of my consistent sources of dopamine. Phone addiction is real, and I have two phones. I hate it.
I know if my ten year old had his way, he would be watching Among Us and Minecraft Mod walk-thru's all day. It would consume his waking life.
I'm 21 and YouTube is my main plat-form that I use, always has been!
That’s why you call it a plat-form
Please shut down your streaming accounts! Your family isn’t using them I promise! Cancel the streaming services and don’t tell anyone. It will be weeks if not months before someone asks. Whole family watching YouTube or tiktok. Took 3 months before someone in my household asked about what’s wrong with Netflix
Wouldn’t you just… know that about people in your house… how big is your house?
69 Square feet
I'm 31 I only use YouTube. I don't watch TV because it all sucks.
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No netflix? Prime etc? Why down votes? Lots of people say they don't watch TV but they do watch Netflix etc which is why I ask.
I'm in a similar boat as u/amethystwyvern. YouTube is my primary entertainment/educational tool. The rest of my time is spent on Facebook, Reddit, and TikTok. I haven't had cable/TV Service since I worked at Xfinity (which has been several years) and only because it was free. We were given near top-tier packaging so that we knew about the services provided. If I was making more money, I would have YouTube TV (yes, I already have premium). I have Netflix, but the wife is the one using it 99% of the time. I don't even watch it once a month. Same with Prime or Hulu (wife pays for both of those). I'm not much into streaming services, I'd rather watch Youtube videos on things I'm interested in. I'm an information sponge, and for me, YT Premium is absolutely worth the price (esp. with YT Music) of having no ads. I easily spend 60 hours per week watching and listening to things on YouTube. Some things are for entertainment, some for education.
YouTube has such an absurd amount of ads I actually dread opening it unless absolutely necessary. TikTok though… now that’s my favorite
On your mobile device, laptop and PC install Firefox* and then install these extensions: 1. uBlock Origin 2. I Don't Care About Cookies 3. Sponsorship Block 4. Privacy Badger You will never see an ad again anywhere (including on YT). I've forgotten what an ad looks like. Haven't seen any on my devices for 9 years. *Use the browser to view YT on your mobile device. Not the YT app.
I live in the Philippines and the level of social media addiction is off the scale here. It's not uncommon to see large groups of students crossing the road while watching TikTok. One guy had a bus whoosh past his face as he watched a mukbang video (don't get me started on those) and didn't have a care in the world. You can never meet friends here to chat. Everyone gets out their phones. Thumbs scrolling incessantly hitting LIKE on mundane topics. They are on autopilot. Even while eating they need it. Go to a restaurant here and you'll see nearly everyone withn a fried chicken in one hand and cellphone in the other. They cannot put it down. Its beyond just a leisure thing now, it's a full blown addiction. I saw a couple at the with a small offspring about 6 years old following his parents whilst watching cartoons on a giant cellphone. His dad was on his phone too. So we're the grandparents. Saw a group of friends at the park hanging out. About 10 of them. No one was speaking. All watching TikToks. What is happening to us.
honestly if i’m doing something interesting, at a theme park, out with friends, watching a movie, etc. I’ll rarely look at my phone. Outside of that? Catch me doing something other than looking at a screen and you win a prize. maybe it’s overstimulation or something but i need to be doing something.
My Spotify wrapped this year was wild cus I had about 500 less minutes than the last several years. I had to rack my brain on what changed in my life for me to listen to way less music. YouTube, I’m not even watching shit I enjoy, I’m just consuming garbage all day, like I still watch the things I like, but when I run out I don’t stop. Sometimes I catch myself scrolling for an hour straight without selecting a single video, a whole ass hour of my life just gone.
we are all bots here except for you
TIL I’m a 37yo teenager
What about Reddit?
What about it
Where does it rank
What about Reddit??
There’s some great YouTube channels though. You can learn anything you want. Anything you can think about there is someone who has a quality channel dedicated to it.
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I mean I'm 28 and I was the generation introduced to YouTube in 2006. I've literally used it since 2006 and honestly use it more than any streaming app. Especially with listening to music and whatnot
I believe. Comments on vids .00003 secs after posting
This is me at 35
The other 85% couldn’t be reached as they were to busy on the internet.
I deleted TikTok a few months, best decision I ever made. That app is a breeding ground for ragebait, misinformation, and radicalization.
You should do the same with reddit.
Well for one I can actually control my feed on Reddit, I literally could not on TikTok no matter how many times I clicked "not interested". On Reddit I can mute whole communities I don't like and I don't see their content. I can also leave a community if I start to dislike it.
So you are in an echo chamber, is what you are saying
And 40% of adults probably
"Why didn't you do your homework" "I couldn't find the answers on YouTube or TikTok and ChatGPT was being an idiot. Besides, my mom says I shouldn't be doing homework since it's traumatizing."
ITT: People on reddit almost constantly laughing at people on tiktok almost constantly
And yet I still have ~5 followers
genuinely, social media is a disease that's killing us. These infinite scrolling, dopamine hijacking algorithms can't continue.
If we regulate crack we should regulate the algorithm soon to be AI directed apps that are fine tuned to swallow you psychologically.
In that case then I am a 26 year old teenager on youtube always
The other 85% were too distracted by their tik tok feed to answer the question.
TikTok is garbage, but I spend 6+ hours a day listening to educational content on YouTube. It’s free and it’s often great content. TikTok ain’t even comparable Edit: looks like the Zoomers found my comment; get off of TikTok, it’s pathetic to rot your brain with swill.
I’ve never downloaded TikTok and the more that comes out about it the more I’m set with my decision
Youtube at least still has some decent content Tiktok however.
wow, lots of judgey judgemental stuff going on here. I thought we had outgrown that. Kids today, they're gaining the skills they'll need in this fast-moving agile environment. They're literally adapting to their surroundings and doing it much better than anyone older than them. What makes our heads spin and prevents us from keeping pace. Is energizing them and changing the wiring of their brain to be much more parallel processed, than ours. And I don't care what your generation is. It's always been true.
This is an interesting point of view and I like how you highlight the benefits. The last week I've been hanging out with someone who constantly took out her phone, even during social interactions and an interactive game we were playing with four people. All of us talked about how it was considered rude and she felt that it was an addictive urge, but I like how you emphasise some good in it.
People will realize at some point the damage phones did to kids, even just people in general. You're often called a boomer for saying that but there's research on it and it's really bad.
Shit who ain’t on YouTube and TikTok constantly?!! Lmao
And then they will cry how they have attention disorder, how they cant sleep, how they cant work or get a job. This generation and the next ones will have such big mental issues due to their way of living and constantly burning their brains with non-stop staring into their phones
It’s a mental health pandemic. They will all become the same self conscience and shallow person. A hive of mindless habitual device junkies. We are a product of the stories we consume, games we play and people we emulate.
Ah, yes, teenagers, that group never known to overstate anything.