The rapid spread of behavior, attitudes, or emotions through a social group – also known as social contagion – has been documented and debated for centuries. Today, the large volume of available digital content and the hyperspeed of its dissemination through powerful social media algorithms may be creating a new and powerful avenue for contagion. How might content on social media or in TV shows and movies impact symptoms of movement disorders, self-harm and even suicide? What should parents and caregivers know about viral social media challenges? What should a caregiver do if they are concerned their child may be susceptible to contagion behaviors from online content?
Children and Screens held the #AskTheExperts webinar “Copycat: Social Contagion, Online Viral Behavior, and Youth” on Thursday, February 29, 2024. A panel of psychiatrists, behavioral researchers, and public health experts discussed the current research on associations between media content, youth behavior trends, and mental health outcomes, and shared signs parents and caregivers should be aware of that may indicate vulnerability to negative effects from social contagion.
Speakers
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Vicki Harrison, MSW
Program Director, Center for Youth Mental Health and Wellbeing, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of MedicineModerator
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Andrea Giedinghagen, MD
Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry, Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine
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Thomas Niederkrotenthaler, PhD, MMSc
Professor of Public Health, Head of the Public Mental Health Research Unit, Deputy Head of the Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, Medical University of Vienna
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Pamela Wisniewski, PhD
Associate Professor of Computer Science, Flowers Family Fellow in Engineering, University of Vanderbilt
