Social media is driving our mental health crisis—Dr. Nicholas Kardaras explains how
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In this September 2022 Hub Dialogues interview with Sean Speer, Nicholas Kardaras discusses his book Digital Madness and argues that heavy social-media use is associated with a broader mental-health decline, citing pre-pandemic U.S. figures on depression, suicide, and overdose deaths as context for the scale of the problem. He describes social-media platforms' reward mechanisms — likes, shares, and algorithmic targeting — as associated with compulsive use, and argues that some widely followed influencers who disclose serious psychiatric symptoms may contribute to social contagion among followers. Kardaras also connects heavy platform use to feelings of isolation despite large online followings, and to more polarized, binary thinking. He proposes building individual psychological resilience through philosophy and purpose, alongside possible antitrust and regulatory action toward platform companies. TechKids Foundation notes that suicide and self-harm are never attributable to any single factor.
Kardaras cited these pre-pandemic U.S. figures as context for what he called an all-time high in depression rates — his own cited figures in the interview, not independently verified by TechKids.
Speer, Sean, host. "Social media is driving our mental health crisis—Dr. Nicholas Kardaras explains how." Hub Dialogues, The Hub, September 27, 2022. https://thehub.ca/2022-09-27/getting-lost-down-digital-rabbit-holes-dr-nicholas-kardaras-on-how-social-media-is-driving-our-mental-health-crisis/