> “We need to stop treating kids as if they’re idiots”

There is a balance here, yes kids are smarter than we probably give them credit for. But they're also more vulnerable when it comes to their social circles, as well as addictive habits.

Social media causes issues with us adults, let alone our young kids who also get caught up in the same messes.

You can throw all sorts of arbitrary "perhaps this is why" topics at it to potentially explain why kids have been struggling with their mental health and its decline. Its likely not one thing but a combination of things, of which social media is thought to be the predominant reason.

> not even a meaningful correlation between the amount of time kids are on social media or on smartphones and their mental health

There have been a large number of studies and meta-analysis that show detrimental impacts of short form video content on people in general not just kids. Across their attention spans, their reward centers and also its algorithmic ability to push content to minds who struggle to ignore it, or which creates false anxieties through content which generalises mental health or relationship issues.

Well one can be sure that social media that doesn't target and then funnel vulnerable kids into dark areas, or doesn't disregard child welfare and safety for a few bucks or doesn't use algorithms to create endless engagement, isn't hurting the kids that much.

However to those who can point to people they know who've been to taken to court by their kid basically because they wanted their kids to get off the fucking smart phone and do some homework set by school or catch on an area they've not understood so well ... maybe addictive social media is an agent of harm.

In Australia the public was very much unhappy with social media and where recommendations where taking their more vulnerable children - reportedly some pretty dark morbid areas, not a thing that slowly evolved, just in a short time, wham. The govt iirc end 10's, asked social media to do something about it - too hard.

The laws here have now changed, no more tv stations posting car stealing videos of kids streaming their crimes for cred. Now just like cars, and now some ebikes in Australia, those under 16 should not be using them in public areas. Of course parents of the more robust and capable kids, permit them to ignore these laws, confident the likelihood of harming themselves or others is near zero.

Perhaps the 350000 chemicals we’ve introduced into our environment are hurting children. Don’t tell the corporations though.