FILMS HAVE RATINGS. VIDEO GAMES HAVE THE ESRB. EVER WONDER WHY THERE ARE NO WARNING LABELS ON SOCIAL MEDIA?
DrugFr33.org is made possible by the volunteer efforts of clinical mental health researchers, law enforcement, and our supporters. Your readership & support helps DrugFr33's mission to combat online abuse & continue to deliver critical public health information to at-risk communities like yours.
Social media is ruining your life...
No matter how big or small you think you are, it only takes one single click to turn your world upside down. It’s time to unplug.
J. Webb | Law Enforcement Officer
.jpg)
DOES SOCIAL MEDIA CARE ABOUT YOU?
Here's something you don't want to hear. Social media is a multi-billion dollar industry whose main function is to turn you into a walking data collection mine for their wares. The vast majority of social networks are built with the same logic and design as your friendly neighborhood slot machines. And the house always wins.
A DANGEROUS ADDICTIVE SUBSTANCE
Social media usage causes the release of large amounts of dopamine into our brains' reward pathway all at once, just like heroin, or meth, or alcohol. With even minimal usage, the user's brain becomes dependent on this neurological effect and the highs get higher & the lows get lower.
RECENT SURVEYS SHOW THAT 85% OF PARENTS ALLOW THEIR YOUNG CHILDREN ACCESS TO TECHNOLOGY: TABLETS, SMARTPHONES, TELEVISIONS, AND COMPUTERS.
[Journal of American Medicine, 2020]
CASES OF CHILD GROOMING ON INSTAGRAM TRIPLED IN 2019.
More than 5,100 online grooming crimes were recorded by police in just 18 months after a new offense of sexual communication with a child came into force, figures show. [source: 2019 | National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children]
Deaths linked to fentanyl among adolescents between the ages of 14 and 18 have skyrocketed year over year, representing 77% of adolescent deaths among teens last year alone.
April, 2022: The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).
As platforms for self-expression, social media sites require users to consciously, visibly, and deliberately perform their identity. While a dominant developmental discourse encourages young people to test and explore different identities, a self-conscious and highly visible performance of identity via social media brings into question the form and value of this activity.
Sexting, Selfies and Self-Harm: Young People, Social Media and the Performance of Self-Development
SHAME AND SOCIAL MEDIA ARE BEST FRIENDS.
Dr. Stephan Poulter | Clinical Psychologist | Ret. Law Enforcement
Society is becoming more aware of some of the dangerous effects of social media, especially on young audiences. It is something that we are even actively working with families on to make sure these apps become safer places.
The Lanier Law Firm, 2023
THE DURATION OF SCREEN TIME IS CRUCIAL IN HOMES THAT ALLOW CHILDREN ACCESS TO SMARTPHONES, TABLETS, TELEVISIONS, AND COMPUTERS. CHILD DEVELOPMENT EXPERTS EMPHASIZE THE IMPORTANCE OF CONSCIOUSNESS—THAT SCREEN TIME SHOULD NOT REPLACE WHAT IS MOST ESSENTIAL FOR CHILD DEVELOPMENT: HUMAN INTERACTION.
So the internet is making your kid dumb?
There were 3 million new users of illicit drugs in 2010, or about 8,100 new users per day. Over one-half (57%) were under 18.
National Institute of Drug Abuse
The rate of overdose deaths among U.S. teenagers nearly doubled in 2020, the first year of the COVID pandemic, and rose another 20% in the first half of 2021. The increases are almost entirely due to illicit fentanyls, which are increasingly found in counterfeit pills, These counterfeit pills are spreading across the nation, and teens may not realize they are dangerous.
DEALERS PREFER SELLING DRUGS ON THE INTERNET BECAUSE IT OFFERS A CONVENIENT AND FAST WAY TO SELL DRUGS.
While policies "prohibit" the sale of illegal drugs on social media sites, but this doesn’t stop drug dealers from finding ways to find buyers and continue their illegal distribution. Part of finding buyers includes the use of the algorithms built into social media platforms themselves.
[Drug Dealers Are Using Social Media To Sell Illegal Drugs | Burton Kelso, 2021]
Keep Video Games Offline
As unfortunate as it is — where there are children, there are also child predators. What is the ultimate playground for children on one side also has a dark underbelly where sexual predators and extortionists find their prey.
Online games like Roblox are essentially an extension of social media. They are open worlds — and most children are sent out into these worlds, free to explore and lacking the skills needed to be safe, as they would need I.R.L. If anything, skills are even more important online – It can take merely seconds for children to be approached online by a predator. Love video games? So do we. It's much safer to play offline video games.
#UNFOLLOW ON SPOTIFY
#Unfollow by DrugFr33.org is an independently run podcast made possible by the volunteer efforts of clinical mental health specialists and law enforcement. Drug Fr33 delivers empowerment strategies, empirically backed research, and awareness of social media addictions, internet-correlated health disorders, and the dangers of digital immersion.
Ways to Help
Are you a provider that offers non-pharmacological interventions for technology and internet related mental health conditions?
Inquire about joining our network by using our chat below.
CBT
Solution Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
Motivational Interviewing
Self-Autonomy & Self Esteem Building
Mindfulness
Individualized counseling to alleviate anxiety, ease depression, and promote personal growth
