Social Media Is Harming The Minds Of Our Youth, Right? Maybe Not. [khn.org]

Alicia Doktor 10/13/1712:00 PM

It was 1:30 a.m., and Anna was trying to keep her mind off her ex-boyfriend, with whom she had ended a painful relationship hours earlier. It was too late to call the therapist she was seeing to cope with low self-esteem and homesickness, and too late to stop by a friend’s house.

So, she turned to social media. “I’m having a really hard time right now,” Anna — who asked to be identified by a pseudonym — posted on Facebook. “Is there anyone I can call and talk to until I feel better?”

Almost immediately, three people responded with offers to talk. They were friends she had met playing Quidditch, a sport based on the Harry Potter fantasy books, and she kept in touch with them online. Anna talked to two of them until she was able to fall sleep.

[For more on this story by Natalie Jacewicz, go to https://khn.org/news/social-me...uth-right-maybe-not/]

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Karen ClemmerMember

I think this is great. I know some new moms with mild postpartum depression who found support on-line in the wee hours of the night, often while nursing their baby.

10/14/179:10 PM

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