New Survey Outlines Gen Z’s Love-Hate Relationship With Social Media

Nearly half of young adults wish some of the most prominent social media platforms did not exist.According to a poll of more than 1,000 adults aged 18-27 conducted by a social psychologist, Jonathan Haidt, and the Harris Poll, 47 percent wish TikTok didn’t exist, while 50 percent feel the same about X, formerly known as Twitter.Still, more than half of the Gen Zers say they use social media for four hours a day, while nearly a quarter use it for seven hours or more.The author of “The Anxious Generation,” Jonathan Haidt, shared the findings in a New York Times opinion piece, painting a stark picture of the addictive nature of smartphones and social media, which he called “astonishing.”The psychologist pressed parents to enact four fundamental rules: no smartphones before high school, no social media before age 16, no phones in schools, and encouraging more unsupervised play.The platforms most wished out of existence include TikTok and X, followed by Snapchat at 43 percent, Facebook at 37 percent, and Instagram at 34 percent.Interestingly, while only 36 percent of those surveyed support social media bans for those younger than 16, a substantial 69 percent favor legislation requiring social media companies to develop child-safe options for users younger than 18. The House of Representatives is considering the Kids Online Safety Act, which aims to disable addictive product features and allow young users to turn off personalized algorithmic feeds.

New Survey Outlines Gen Z’s Love-Hate Relationship With Social Media

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