Maybe because it actually IS (at least largely) a moral panic, even if there MAY be a KERNEL of truth in there somewhere. And that moral panic, along with pendulum theory, will inevitably and predictably go too far if allowed to fester and proceed unfettered and unchecked, just like every other moral panic in history.
Just look at Australia, for example. And that's NOT the end of it, as they will NOT stop there, nor will it be confined to Australia either. This is merely one of the first of many, many dominoes to fall.
Why is this man so hell bent on denying an association between social media and mental health? Does he have a conflict of interest somewhere in his funding that you’ve found? I find these academic debates really interesting and informative but also very distracting. Anyone who works directly with youth sees the change, sees the correlation and in some cases the causation.
I've no reason to think Ferguson has had any funding from big tech or that this would play a role. As far as I can tell, Ferguson has focused on defending tech and media interests all of his academic career, starting with video games. This seems to align with his own beliefs.
Only Ferguson knows his own motivations, but the reality is that the less the public is informed about elevated mental health risks associated with frequent social media use by adolescents, the less likely it is to demand reforms from big tech -- and the less likely it is to question academicians like Ferguson who dismiss concerns over social media harms as moral panic.
Maybe because it actually IS (at least largely) a moral panic, even if there MAY be a KERNEL of truth in there somewhere. And that moral panic, along with pendulum theory, will inevitably and predictably go too far if allowed to fester and proceed unfettered and unchecked, just like every other moral panic in history.
Just look at Australia, for example. And that's NOT the end of it, as they will NOT stop there, nor will it be confined to Australia either. This is merely one of the first of many, many dominoes to fall.
Why is this man so hell bent on denying an association between social media and mental health? Does he have a conflict of interest somewhere in his funding that you’ve found? I find these academic debates really interesting and informative but also very distracting. Anyone who works directly with youth sees the change, sees the correlation and in some cases the causation.
Hi Alison,
I've no reason to think Ferguson has had any funding from big tech or that this would play a role. As far as I can tell, Ferguson has focused on defending tech and media interests all of his academic career, starting with video games. This seems to align with his own beliefs.
Only Ferguson knows his own motivations, but the reality is that the less the public is informed about elevated mental health risks associated with frequent social media use by adolescents, the less likely it is to demand reforms from big tech -- and the less likely it is to question academicians like Ferguson who dismiss concerns over social media harms as moral panic.