Mensajes a la Familia · Radio Ebenezer RD

Alerta Papás y Mamás I

March 2, 2026·15 min·1 clip

Graphs show depression, anxiety, and suicide attempts skyrocketed after 2010, directly linked to smartphones and social media.

The episode begins with host Sixto introducing the topic of social media and adolescence, featuring guest Dr. Pablo Muñoz Iturrieta, a philosopher and psychologist. Dr. Muñoz opens with statistics: teen social media activity increased from 63% in 2016 to 95% in 2022, with many teens saying they couldn't live without it. He identifies 1997 as a key year because smartphones and iPads emerged when that generation was 8-10 years old, leading to massive psychological impacts. Graphs in his book show explosions in depression, anxiety, suicide attempts, hospitalizations, eating disorders, and gender identity disorders starting around 2010-2012. He dismisses other explanations like the 2008 financial crisis or school shootings as not globally applicable, pointing to smartphones and social apps as the common factor. Instagram is highlighted as the first app-only social network, purchased by Facebook in 2012. Dr. Muñoz explains two psychological phenomena: social comparison, where adolescent girls compare themselves to idealized online images, causing insecurity and depression, and social contagion, where teens are easily influenced by online content. He gives examples like Greta Thunberg's 2018 UN speech creating anxiety about climate doom and influencers on TikTok promoting self-diagnosis of conditions like autism or gender dysphoria. This leads to medication or hormone treatments, with a 5,336% increase in girls with gender identity disorders since 2014. The host promotes Dr. Muñoz's book 'Apaga el celular y enciende tu cerebro'. Dr. Muñoz then ranks dangerous platforms: Instagram for image-based harm to girls, TikTok for addictive pseudo-psychiatry, and Snapchat for sexting and stranger interactions. He notes boys are more affected by video games and pornography, with the average age of porn addiction onset at nine years in the US, likely similar in Hispanic America. The episode concludes with a teaser for a follow-up program on practical solutions for technology use in families.

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