02/06/2025
https://inews.co.uk/inews-lifestyle/22-gen-z-boring-rather-talk-to-boomer-3704924
I am quoted in the attached piece in the iPAPER about the influence of social media on young people.
Influencers tell us what to watch, wear and even think, creating an echo chamber that discourages us to develop our own critical thinking, hobbies, tastes and skills.
Noel Bell, a psychotherapist and spokesperson for the UK Council for Psychotherapy, says the problem comes from passive scrolling, which has a detrimental effect on mental health and emotional wellbeing. “There’s the over-reliance on digital interactions, so there’s less ability to develop face-to-face communication skills,” he says. “Older people seem to have have learned social skills, like making small talk, with greater ease, as they didn’t have this oppressive need to impress that the worst parts of social media can bring out.”
Bell adds that social media creates “oppressiveness around comparison” – meaning young people in particular are reluctant to give an opinion, or even appear outside the ‘norm’. “That has a massive impact on a lot of people, both on their self-esteem, confidence and social confidence.”
I, for one, have scrolled for hours on end, and if asked what I’ve been doing or what I’ve watched, have no answer that’s worth saying out loud. When that’s all we’re doing, day in and day out, it’s no surprise we’ve become so uninteresting.
So, as a 22-year-old, I’d much rather be seated at the table of pensioners. They’ll make me laugh, teach me something new, and maybe, just maybe, have an opinion on something I say.
People in their twenties live in a distorted online reality and none of them can hold a conversation because of it, writes Kia-Elise Green
