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Let us ask the current regimes in Canada: To whom do children belong from the moment they begin their schooling in public institutions: to their parents or to the government? When our children are deprived of an education and respect that is neither taught nor instilled in them, and public schools prepare them to commit crimes with the help of thuggish police officers, the burgeoning social services industry, and hellish courts, why do the regimes in power blame the parents?
THE SOCIAL MEDIA BUSINESS TAKES ITS TOLL: ONE IN FIVE MINORS SUFFERS FROM ANXIETY OR DEPRESSION
The economic benefits of large technology companies threaten the mental health of new generations
Hyperconnectivity has ceased to be just a habit and has become a public health problem. A new report reveals that one in five minors in the Canary Islands presents symptoms of anxiety or depression related to the intensive use of social media and mobile phones. But behind these figures there are not only individual choices: there is also a business model that turns the attention, emotions, and personal data of millions of young people into a constant source of profit.
By CARLOS SERNA FOR CANARIAS-SEMANAL.ORG
One in five minors in the Canary Islands presents symptoms of anxiety or depression related to the intensive use of mobile phones and social media. The situation is even more worrying when analyzing the risk of suicide, which affects 11.2% of young people in the archipelago, well above the national average. These are some of the conclusions of the report "Childhood, Adolescence, and Digital Well-being," prepared by UNICEF Spain in collaboration with the University of Santiago de Compostela, Red.es, and the General Council of Computer Engineering.
The study, conducted with a sample of 1,460 students from the Canary Islands between the ages of 10 and 20, paints a picture that transcends the educational sphere, becoming a genuine public health problem. It's not just about how much time teenagers spend in front of a screen, but about the model of social relationships and consumption that major digital platforms have built around them.
Mental health: the hidden price of hyperconnectivity
The vast majority of minors in the Canary Islands already own a mobile phone. The average age of access is just 10.69 years, and almost all maintain an active presence on social media from a very young age. More than 87% use three or more platforms, and a significant portion dedicate more than five hours a day to them on weekends.
Social media has ceased to be a simple communication tool and has become the primary space where teenagers construct their identity, seek recognition, and establish personal relationships. As Antonio Rial, the study's scientific director, explained during the presentation, "the reign of the 'like' is a veritable emotional crusher."
This statement encapsulates a reality confirmed by the data: the constant pursuit of digital approval ultimately generates anxiety, frustration, and a significant loss of psychological well-being.
The consequences are also reflected in other indicators of the report. Pornography consumption is starting at increasingly younger ages: almost 44% of minors in the Canary Islands admit to having accessed this content at some point, and some do so even during primary school. The phenomenon of sexting—the exchange of digital sexual content—also shows high figures, while access to gambling and games of chance continues to affect thousands of teenagers despite being prohibited for minors.
Added to this are other forms of digital violence. Cyberbullying continues to affect a significant portion of the student population, and more than a third of young people report having experienced controlling behavior within romantic relationships through mobile phones or social media. Technology doesn't create these forms of violence, but it does amplify them, eliminating the spaces for disconnection that previously existed outside of school hours.
A Business Based on Capturing Attention
Reducing this problem to a supposed individual inability of young people to control their mobile phone use would be a mistake. Digital platforms are not designed to promote balanced consumption, but rather to keep users connected for as long as possible. Every notification, every recommended video, and every endless scroll is part of an architecture designed to capture attention.
Human attention, in effect, has become a commodity. The longer a person remains connected, the more data they generate, and the greater the economic benefit that large technology companies obtain through personalized advertising and the commercial exploitation of that information. Teenagers are one of the most valuable sectors for this business because they are especially active users and more vulnerable to the psychological mechanisms of immediate reward used by algorithms.
The disparity between boys and girls is particularly worrying. The risk of suicide is almost three times higher for girls than for boys, reaching 16.6% of adolescent girls. Constant pressure regarding body image, perpetual comparison, and the search for approval on social media affect young women much more intensely. They have also become prime targets for industries that thrive on exploiting personal insecurities to sell products, lifestyles, and unattainable beauty standards.
Education is necessary, but not sufficient.
The report highlights the importance of family mediation and digital literacy. Undoubtedly, both are essential. However, the problem can hardly be solved by appealing solely to the responsibility of parents or teachers as long as these platforms continue to operate under a logic exclusively focused on profit.
When the primary objective is to increase screen time to boost advertising revenue, users' mental health inevitably takes a back seat. Algorithms are not programmed to protect children or foster healthy social relationships, but rather to maximize screen time. That is the logic of capitalism, which large technology companies inevitably apply to the digital world: turning attention, emotions, and personal data into a permanent source of private profit.
In this context, the measures announced by the Canary Islands Government, such as the incorporation of psychology professionals into schools and the strengthening of protocols against bullying and suicide risk, are positive steps forward. But they also highlight a contradiction: while public administrations are allocating ever-increasing public resources to repair the damage, large platforms continue to reap enormous profits through business models that precisely encourage this hyperconnectivity.
The data available in the Canary Islands, which can undoubtedly be extrapolated to most countries with access to these technologies, serve as a serious warning: the mental health of new generations may be one of the heavy prices that society pays for a digital model designed to maximize profits at any cost.
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