 Did you know that it is a complete myth that sugar makes kids extra hyper? Well, it's another myth that the likes on Instagram or social media as a whole is ruining your mental health and a lot of it is based on bad science and that's what we're going to be talking about in this video. What is up everybody? This is Chris from the Rewired Soul where we talk about the problem but focus on the solution and if you're new to my channel, my channel is all about mental health. So if you're into improving your mental and emotional well-being, make sure you subscribe and ring that notification bell and if you're not yet, make sure you follow me over on Instagram and Twitter at the Rewired Soul, alright? And for all of you who are entering in this weekend's Shane Dawson palette giveaway, make sure you stay tuned into the end of this video where I'll let you know how you can get some extra entries into this drawing. So yeah, people are freaking out because Instagram has been testing out removing the like feature on the platform, alright? And just to clarify real quick, you can't publicly see the likes but you can still see the likes like from your account, you can still look at your analytics and everything like that but they were testing it in other countries and now they are finally rolling it out to the United States and people are freaking out and having these opinions and everything like that. Now, why are they doing this? Because they are saying it is negatively affecting people's mental health and there are other platforms you know who are like, oh you know, good move and everything like that and listen, like I'm not going to be talking about the creator, you know, money aspect or anything like that. What I'm going to be talking about is the mental health aspect because the whole reason they're doing this is because they say it negatively affects your mental health and we really need to talk about this. It seems like everywhere you look, everywhere you look, there are articles out there about how social media is just destroying your mental health. You'll want to know why you're depressed, it's because of social media. You'll want to know why you're anxious, it's because of social media, alright? And a lot of it, a lot of it has stemmed from the book I, Gen by Dr. Gene Twengey, alright? But a lot of this is incorrect and you might be sitting there but Chris, everybody saying that social media ruins your mental health, how could they possibly be wrong? That is an excellent question and I don't have the time to dive into it but there are so many things, there are so many things that we just believe are true because everybody is saying they're true, alright? But let's focus on what we talked about in the intro, the idea that sugar makes kids hyper, alright? Every parent out there knows if you give a kid sugar, they are just going to be just rambunctious little scamps and just running around and driving in nuts, alright? So they actually did studies on this, they've done multiple studies on this where they gave kids sugar and then they also gave another group of kids nothing, alright? They told the parents, yeah, we gave your kid sugar but they didn't give those kids sugar. Here's something I love about these psychological studies, they just mess with people and it's great. But anyways, anyways, the parents that were told that their kids were given sugar were more likely to say that their kids were more hyperactive, the parents were more irritated and annoyed by their kids behavior and everything like that but the kid was never given sugar, alright? So why is that a problem, okay? Because the parents' belief that sugar was making their kid hyperactive, it makes it so we're not addressing the problem at all. And I can do whole other videos about this but think about that for a second. The way we make it rain ADHD medication and everything like that and parents don't even know when their kid is actually acting out of character, like that's an issue. So when we're talking about Dr. Jean Twenge and her book, I Jin, about how social media is making the youth depressed, also adults depressed and everything like that, we need to talk about bad science, okay? Because her book was very, very popular but when psychological researchers started diving into the studies that Dr. Jean Twenge used, they saw that a lot of it does not hold up to scientific scrutiny, okay? Like when people are putting out studies and research and findings, there's a lot that goes into it because all of us, all of us as humans, we have different biases, okay? So when a scientist or a psychologist doing research, when they're forming their hypothesis, all right? There is some underlying bias, right? They think they're going to get a certain result, right? So this is why when research is done, there needs to be peer-reviewed studies. Usually there needs to be like a certain amount of people who are tested, right? Because some psychological research like with social media, like think about it. If you tested five people, your results are not going to be nearly, nearly as accurate as testing 5,000 people. You see what I mean? So a lot of people have looked at Dr. Jean Twenge's work and said, you know what, let's look at this because this might not be accurate, all right? So let's talk about this idea that social media is making you depressed. A great example that I can use is Gary Vaynerchuk or Gary Vee, okay? This dude has built an empire all based on him just going all in on social media and social media platforms. He creates so much content. He is constantly on all the social media platforms, all right? Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and everything like that. And if you look at Gary Vee, he is one of the happiest dudes on earth, all right? So you sit back and look, if social media is making you depressed, how come Gary Vee hasn't offed himself yet because he is constantly on social media? Well, let me introduce you to Dr. Sarah Kavanaugh, all right? She wrote an excellent book called Hive Mind, all right? And a lot of it in there is about why we believe things and, you know, crowd psychology and all these other things. It was one of the best books I've read on this, all right? But anyways, a little bit about Dr. Sarah Kavanaugh. When she was doing, you know, her initial research, she was trying to understand why some people who were affected by 9-11 developed PTSD and others didn't, right? And this is something that I think about a lot, like especially when it comes to war veterans. Why do some veterans come back and have PTSD and other psychological issues but others don't, all right? So Dr. Sarah Kavanaugh, she really dove into the science of emotional regulation and psychology and trying to understand why are some people being affected and others aren't. Well, in the book Hive Mind, she also talks about studies she's done about why are some people on social media getting depressed, getting anxious, but then you have people like Gary Vaynerchuk who use social media constantly and they are one of the, some of the happiest people on earth, okay? And in the book Hive Mind, Sarah Kavanaugh actually talks about some of the bad science that Dr. Gene Twenge uses. But anyways, what Dr. Sarah Kavanaugh found out through research is that it's not social media that is affecting your mental health, okay? It is things that we are prone to, all right? The biggest one is social comparison, okay? So what they found is people who are more prone to social comparison are more likely to be negatively affected by social media, all right? Why does this matter, okay? Here's why this matters, like if we are out here trying to fix the wrong problems, nobody's going to get help, all right? Let's say we woke up tomorrow and social media was gone. Poof, some magic wizard just came and poof, social media is gone. The people who were being negatively affected by social media will still be negatively affected because of their social comparison issues, them comparing themselves to people at work, comparing themselves to people at school, comparing themselves to people on TV and all these other things, like this is an internal problem and that's why we need to work on that problem and not go fixing all these other issues, like imagine going to the doctor with a broken arm and the doctor being like, yo, dog, we got this amazing new leg cast and we're going to hook you up and you're like, yo, my arm's broken, not my leg and they're like, trust me on this, I'm going to fix your leg, like it doesn't do anything and that's why we need to look at social media companies like Instagram Removing Likes because this is not the real issue. Will it help some people? Sure, but my issue is somebody who is trying to help others with their mental health, like we need to get the proper information out there because I don't want you to be like, well, Instagram removed, removed like six months ago and I'm still depressed. What's going on? It's because you were given the wrong information. So if you are somebody who is prone to social comparison and this is something that is affecting your mental health, get therapy. Okay, I do not care how you get therapy. If you have health insurance, talk to your doctor. They might be able to recommend a therapist, check with your insurance provider, see which therapists are in your area. Usually when you go through, you can see which therapists specialize in different aspects. I personally use BetterHelp online therapy. If you would like to give it a try, I do have an affiliate link down in the description below. Basically what that means is that you get affordable online therapy and a little bit comes back to help support the channel as well. I just had an amazing session with my therapist yesterday. I might do a video about that. But anyways, I really wanted to make this video because so many people are talking about Instagram removing lights and people are upset for different reasons, but I just want to get out here and put out the proper information so you can accurately work on your mental health. All right? And as I promised for all of you who are in the Shane Dawson palette giveaway, here's your chance to get an extra entry. All right? So many of you know I've been doing blogs, mental health blogs over on my website, TheRewiredSoul.com. I just put up a brand new blog about not feeling motivated. Do it anyways, all right? It is a blog about depression. So to get an extra entry, all you got to do is read that blog and leave a comment sharing your experience, how you can relate to the topic, or leave a comment giving some suggestions to the community, all right? And then you will get an extra entry. The giveaway will be this Sunday, all right? But anyways, that's all I got for this video. If you like this video, please give it a thumbs up. If you're new, make sure you subscribe and ring that notification bell and a huge, huge thank you to everybody who supports the channel over on Patreon, as well as everybody who supports the channel by buying my mental health books and merch and all that other kind of good stuff. All right? Thanks again for watching. I'll see you next time.