Tide pods

The difference between being dumb and your authentic self

Remember how eating Tide pods was a thing?

This is what Harvard Health said regarding that phenomenon in 2018:

“They (i.e., teens) take dumb risks, the same kind we took as teenagers. We took them because we thought we were invincible, and because our friends were watching and egging us on. That’s another part of teen reality: what their peers think matters a lot [italicized emphasis mine].

“That’s where the media coverage comes in — more specifically, social media. Back when I was a teen, the group of friends watching and egging me on was relatively small, and most of them were people I’d chosen to be friends with, at least some of whom had some interest in my well-being. They were also there in person, and we could talk about risks before taking them.

“With social media, today’s teens have potentially millions of people watching and egging them on, mostly people they didn’t choose, who are not there in person — and who have zero interest in their well-being. It’s “I dare you” in proportions we can’t measure or imagine, played out in the latest “challenge” (there have been plenty of them) and broadcast via their ever-present phones."

The source of the problem, the post opined, is with the adolescent brain:

“[T]he real problem is the adolescent brain. Adolescence is a crucial moment in life, the transition between childhood and adulthood. The brains of adolescents reflect that transition. They have the ability to take in a lot of information, to learn quickly, that children have — and their brains are beginning to build the connections that adults have, the connections that make different parts of the brain work together more quickly and effectively. The last part of the brain to build those connections is the frontal lobe. This is important, because the frontal lobe is the part of the brain that controls insight and judgment, the part that controls risk-taking behaviors. Basically, teens are quick learners without a whole lot of insight or judgment...”

Who knew?

The author is a pediatrician at Boston Children's Hospital (yes, that one) and an assistant professor of pediatrics at Harvard Medical School.

Moral of the story:

Eating Tide pods: dumb. An over 50-fold increase in GD diagnoses in just 10 years: all part of being your authentic self.