Rantz: Seattle public schools hurt youth mental health, but blame social media

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Seattle Public Schools has filed a lawsuit against social media companies, claiming their services target children and cause them to develop mental health issues. It’s a frivolous lawsuit meant to get attention and, if they’re lucky, cover some of their budget that the district doesn’t want to pay. While the problem itself deserves serious discussion, so does the fact that SPS has caused the same problems in children for the past three years. SPS literally forced kids into the same computers and phones they used to access social media.

SPS argued that TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and Snapchat contribute to student mental health issues, including causing anxiety, depression, eating disorders and cyberbullying. As a result, these students struggle academically and require additional resources that the school district must pay for (specialized training to identify mental health issues, etc.). This is a new argument. Unfortunately, this also depends on the fact that we do not remember the significant damage caused by the SPS.

Although social media negatively affects young people (and adults), the recent increase in youth mental health issues is a direct result of unnecessary school closures by school districts and teachers’ unions during the coronavirus pandemic. COVID-19. To make matters worse, children are indoctrinated into far-left views of race and gender that are threatening, shameful and confusing.

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The SPS tries to deflect blame

Despite knowing that young people were the least likely to suffer negative consequences from COVID while hearing millions of parents watch their children become increasingly depressed from being stuck at home, SPS teachers dragged the feet in the reopening of schools. Many did not want to commute and enjoyed the comfortable job of pretend teaching from home. But if they were to return to work, they would demand higher wages and other concessions. They didn’t care about keeping their students further isolated; the suffering of the students was for the greater good of meeting the demands of the recalcitrant teachers’ unions.

Nationally, emergency rooms saw at least a 24% increase in mental health-related visits for children ages 5 to 11 in 2020 compared to 2021. For adolescents, this was an increase of 31%. SPS will have you believe that this is due to a child watching videos on TikTok, when it is their disinterest in serving your children and getting back to work that is most to blame.

Additionally, children had much easier access to social media as SPS required their students to stay online. And for a district that seems to hate social media, they rely heavily on Twitter and Facebook to make important announcements regarding school issues, such as closures, event promotions and vacations. Why is SPS running school business on these sites?

Register your student for the 2023-24 school year at the upcoming SPS Admissions Fair on January 28 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the John Stanford Center. Plus, get answers to your questions about open enrollment, the school choice process, and more. https://t.co/s4kS5gPai3 #SPSEnroll pic.twitter.com/QDpRs2FJGD

— Seattle Public Schools (@SeaPubSchools) January 10, 2023

Social media is harmful; SPS too

While there’s no doubt that social media can be unhealthy, you know what else can create detrimental effects on student mental health? Telling white children that they are all part of a white supremacist culture where they imbue racism with their white privilege. Nor does it help to tell black children that cops are roaming the streets of Seattle to kill them. Confusing kids about gender identity or helping kids hide from their parents the gender confusion they’re going through (or teachers tell them they’re going through) probably doesn’t help their mental health either. .

How can SPS honestly say that it can specifically prove that its students are experiencing emotional difficulties because of a social media site they may not even be using? SPS has no idea how much time a child spends on a social media site. And they also don’t know the exact problems faced by the students. Will the district violate student privacy and pressure students to speak publicly about concerns they thought they were privately raising with a school counselor? SPS can’t prove any of their claims, so their best shot is hoping for a settlement. But I can’t imagine the social media companies would be quick to settle, because that would just invite equally frivolous lawsuits from every school district across the country trying to make a quick buck.

Schools should talk to students about the dangers of social media. It’s an interesting conversation, and it might reach some kids glued to Twitter or Snapchat. Ultimately, though, it’s parents’ job to better monitor their children’s screen time. It’s not easy to stop a 16-year-old from using Instagram 24/7, but being a parent isn’t easy.

Listen to the Jason Rantz Show weekday afternoons from 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. on KTTH 770 AM (HD Radio 97.3 FM HD-Channel 3). Subscribe to the podcast. Follow @JasonRantz on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Check back frequently for more news and analysis.

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