2023-04-23 19:01:27
Several studies in recent years postulate that the increase in the number of depressions in adolescent girls is due to the loss of self-esteem when compared to social media images, often “photoshopped”, of those who appear to be prettier, thinner, more popular and richer than them. Three-quarters of 14-year-old girls who suffer from depression have low self-esteem and are unhappy with their appearance.
Girls are much more affected by their perception of their appearance than boys, according to Professor Yvonne Kelly, from University College London, who led research into this. Some have suicidal thoughts and even go so far as to harm themselves. Rates of depression, anxiety, and self-harm among teenage girls rose in the early 2010s as social media platforms grew and multiplied.
Social media and societal ills
Statistics show that girls spend much more time than boys using social networks like Instagram, WhatsApp and Facebook. Although we don’t yet have conclusive evidence that social media use actually causes depression, we have many competing signs that it has a negative impact on young people and especially girls.
And, more generally, there is no doubt that social media is partly responsible for the societal ills we have experienced in recent years. Think how much they have contributed to heightening social tensions by spreading falsehoods about the pandemic.
Parrots are chatting on the net
Humans aren’t the only ones depressed by social isolation. Parrots too. And for them, the influence of the internet seems to have the opposite effect, according to a newly published ethology study by Scottish and American researchers.
Eighteen parrots – which are among the most intelligent birds – were chosen to take part in the study. They were given a touchscreen tablet on which they were taught to touch pictures of other parrots with their beaks to make a call to them. They could choose which one to call.
They quickly made new feathered friends. These birds, which live in groups in the wild, are most often found alone in the family that adopts them as a pet. Boredom and avian loneliness lead them to develop psychological problems that can lead to self-harming behaviors such as feather plucking. Being able to communicate with their peers gives them “joie de vivre”.
A co-author of the study said the parrots “seemed to understand” that when they engaged with other birds over video, they were having real interactions with them. Out of their isolation, the birds have adopted gregarious behaviors such as singing together, imitating each other and even grooming themselves for fear of being badly seen.
This is the first experience that allows animals to communicate directly with each other via the Internet on their own initiative.
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