>In Gallup’s data, the average teen spends about 5 hours a day on social media
"Social media" is a super vague and amorphous term. Does it include platforms like TikTok and YouTube, which are closer to the "Television/movies" category? Even Instagram has largely pivoted to Reels and influencer content over pictures of your friends. The usage of "pictures/texts from your friends"-type social media is likely to have declined over the last five years.
>American teens are also less likely to say that there is a lot of competition for grades at their school, suggesting academic pressure has not ramped up in recent years
College admissions, which conventional wisdom advertises as the next step after high school and the only path to a successful career/life, has become vastly more unpredictable over the last ten years. The amount of work (extracurriculars, "volunteering", clubs) you're expected to do for your app to look good has also significantly increased, while the expected payoff remains the same or has decreased. (Even excluding this, zero-sum games over prestige are probably depressing on their own.)
"Social media" is a super vague and amorphous term. Does it include platforms like TikTok and YouTube, which are closer to the "Television/movies" category? Even Instagram has largely pivoted to Reels and influencer content over pictures of your friends. The usage of "pictures/texts from your friends"-type social media is likely to have declined over the last five years.
>American teens are also less likely to say that there is a lot of competition for grades at their school, suggesting academic pressure has not ramped up in recent years
College admissions, which conventional wisdom advertises as the next step after high school and the only path to a successful career/life, has become vastly more unpredictable over the last ten years. The amount of work (extracurriculars, "volunteering", clubs) you're expected to do for your app to look good has also significantly increased, while the expected payoff remains the same or has decreased. (Even excluding this, zero-sum games over prestige are probably depressing on their own.)