[bigstrat2003]

> Abstention = social isolation, which for young people is far worse than exposure. Restricting your children's access is not an option...

"Everybody else is doing it" has never been, and still is not, a valid reason for anything. If other parents choose to let their kids ingest mental poison, that does not mean that one should allow their children to do the same. Abstention is not only an option, it is something which absolutely should be enforced by any parent who cares about their child's well being.

[lvoudour]

I'm not talking about kids, I'm talking about adolescents (as is the quoted paragraph). I strongly believe that an adolescent's well being is tightly coupled with social interactions. If a restriction is not protecting them from life threatening situations, then alienating them from their peers is probably worse.

[ryandrake]

So the choice is between social-media-induced mental illness and alienation/isolation? No wonder kids are so screwed up today: there is no winning move!

[ashyaspen]

It absolutely is a reason. Everyone else is doing it, meaning if you don't you feel isolated.

So, either you participate and feel isolated through your social connections by social media, or you don't participate and feel even more isolated because you don't have social connections.