Social media data needed for 'harm' research, say doctors

[TiredSam]

https://www.bbc.com/news/health-51134545

The report, by the Royal College of Psychiatrists, calls on the regulator to require social-media companies to share data on how children and young people are using the likes of Instagram, Facebook and Twitter - not just how much time they spend online.

The data collected would be anonymous, the report says.

What could go wrong?

 

[James Morris-Lent]

Isn't there enough evidence available to know that these things are really bad for kids? It seems like policymaking is the relevant arena now for this issue, not research.

Not to mention, what public health agency actually has the capacity to meaningfully process what is now probably exabytes of data? I would think they would be relying on 'curated' data provided to them by the companies. That's liable to be worse than no data.

 

[Kitty]

Plenty of young people who've suffered harm through social media would tell you about it if you just asked them. And about things that might have helped when they were caught up in the worst of it. The RCP aren't ever going to be the experts here.

 

[rvallee]

This is more relevant to sociology, somewhat to psychology, not at all relevant to psychiatry. Why is a profession that hasn't solved a single one of their main topics of study expanding into other unrelated areas? Modern psychiatry is acting like they solved everything about psychiatric diseases and are bored and looking for stuff to keep them busy. It's becoming the that-kitchen-drawer-with-random-stuff everyone has that you just stuff with things that don't belong elsewhere.

But requiring social media companies to give this information to psychiatrists is one of the worst ideas ever. Seriously, GTFOH. Fortunately it will never happen because it's an insane demand but the fact that it was officially announced is seriously worrying, betrays a severe lack of judgment.