Resource Roundup
Things I've found helpful lately: on TikTok, burnout, teen mental health, and neighborhoods
Every 6ish weeks, I share an assortment of resources or links that have been helpful to me lately. Here’s the latest:
“Not even 12 hours after the ban, r/TikTok and others devolve into infighting and name-calling as the most addicted users are suffering severe withdrawal to the point of wondering how they will survive the next few days, while others remind them they have the internet. Responses get vitriolic.” - This is a bit of an unusual thing to link to for me, but I came across this Reddit post soon after the TikTok ban took place. I will warn you that there’s plenty of foul language in here, but it gives some insight into the experiences of those who have become addicted to the app. Spoiler alert: it’s pretty bad.
Not Banned, But Broken? - On the same subject, Gen Z research and strategy firm dcdx asked Gen Z about how their relationship with TikTok changed after the temporary ban. While they still call it irreplaceable, average screen time dropped 8 hours per week in the week following the ban. This is perhaps a more hopeful take than the previous link, though I along with dcdx am interested to see how this ultimately plays out long-term.
The FYI Report on Youth Leader Burnout and Wellbeing - Fuller Youth Institute just released a free report based on a study of over 1,000 youth leaders. Check it out for insights on youth leader burnout and wellbeing, along with practical recommendations.
Improving teen mental health with Lisa Damour - I’ve enjoyed many episodes from Adam Grant’s Worklife podcast, and this recent one discussed teens and mental health, social media, sleep, and why they need caring adults in their life. Clinical psychologist Dr. Lisa Damour, a consultant for Inside Out 2, shares, “The data give us a pretty strong sense that the single most powerful force for adolescent mental health is strong relationships with caring adults.”
The Real User Interface: Recovering Our Neighborhoods - I haven’t actually read Jonathan Haidt’s book The Anxious Generation, but I have read a lot of his Substack around the same topic. I appreciate how he also dives into cultural forces around technology that set the stage for how technology has influenced the younger generation. In this post, guest writer Zach Rausch shares, “The four factors that we can control—the physical landscape, the strength of local institutions, the nature of religion, and our education and aspirations—have a compounding history that make our society especially vulnerable to the downsides stemming from technological change.”