Are real-life buddies being replaced with online friendships and screen reality?
Increasingly, people hang out in the virtual world of follows, likes and even captures. Are real-life buddies being replaced with online friendships and screen reality?
More from this episode:
- Keep our 'human networks' working and not just our virtual ones
- Pokémon Go players tackle a litter problem in Ontario town
- Apps like Pokémon Go create 'false needs' dangerously: researcher
Map | Guests | Live chat | Links and Articles | Download the MP3
According to Apple, Pokémon Go has broken records for the app that's been downloaded the most in a first week launch ever.
You may have also heard in the news this week about a new report on Ontario teen mental health, showing an increase in depression and anxiety among young people. And while the study doesn't pinpoint the cause as being screen time, the survey does say that almost two-thirds of students spent three hours or more per day of their free time in front of a screen and about 16 per cent spent five hours or more on social media per day. Other Canadian studies point even more strongly to a connection between screen time and depression.
There are those who say that games like Pokémon Go—that blend the virtual and real world—might actually help with depression by getting people out into the real world and connecting with others face to face.
Our question: "Are real-life buddies being replaced with online friendships and screen reality?"
Guests
Ramona Pringle, assistant professor in the RTA School of Media and director of the Transmedia Zone at Ryerson University.
Lisa Pont, Social Worker at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health.
Stuart Duncan, started Autcraft, a Minecraft server just for children and adults with autism.
Clive Thompson, contributing writer for the New York Times Magazine and a columnist for Wired. He's also the author of "Smarter Than You Think: How Technology is Changing our Minds For the Better."
Links and Articles
CBC.ca
- High anxiety, distress levels in teens counter 'prime of life' image
- Pokemon Go officially launches in Canada, crashes app's servers
- How to catch 'em all in Canada: Pokemon Go tips from a 'seasoned' pro
- 'Incredibly dangerous' Pokemon Go stunt draws ire of TTC
- How Pokémon Go can help fight mental illness
- What in the heck is Pokemon Go, and why is it everywhere right now?
- Safety in schools: Will social media monitoring help keep kids safe? (Mar. 19, 2016)
- Handful of Nova Scotians rebel against cellphone ownership (Mar. 3, 2016)
- Parents should teach their kids how to use the internet: tech researcher (Mar. 3, 2016)
- Social media affecting teens' concepts of friendship, intimacy (Feb. 25, 2014)
- Spark: The social lives of networked teens (Feb. 11, 2014)
The Huffington Post
The Pew Research Centre
- Takeaways about teen friendships in the digital age
- The "new contours of friendship in the digital age"
- Teens, Social Media & Technology Overview 2015
The Guardian
- Can teenagers survive without social media?
- Life before and after facebook
- Worst parental crimes on social media
- Saudi Arabia revives ban on 'un-Islamic' Pokémon in response to app
New York Times
- Facebook to Change News Feed to Focus on Friends and Family
- Pokémon Go Brings Augmented Reality to a Mass Audience
Other sources
- Japanese government releases warnings, advice ahead of Pokemon Go arrival
- Pokemon Go Canada: How to catch 'em all
- Don't Blame Social Media if Your Teen Is Unsocial. It's Your Fault
- One-third of Ontario students report elevated psychological distress, CAMH survey shows
- Screen time is associated with depression and anxiety in Canadian youth