Discussion on Problematic Problematic Interactive Media Use

As part of the webinar the presenter, Dr. Kristelle Lavallee Collins introduced research on
Self Cyberbullying also called, “digital self-harm”. In two recent cases of adolescent suicide,
authorities discovered that the individuals were engaging in digital self-harm by setting up fake
social media accounts and posting mean comments on their own content. Digital self-harm is
thought to be an attempt to cope with psychological distress, and may be seen as a bid for
attention. A recent study with a sample of 10,000 middle and highschool students showed that
10% of these students engaged in self cyberbullying. Adolescents who have been bullied by
others are more likely to engage in digital self-harm. Digital self-harm is a part of a larger class
of behaviors in what Dr. Collins refers to as “Problematic Interactive Media Use” or “PIMU”.

PIMU can be related to the chapter on culture and adolescent development. Page 309
introduces the topic by stating, “The culture adolescents experience involves not only cultural
values, SES, and ethnicity, but also media and screen time influences (Maloy & others, 2021).”
The webinar was filmed in January of 2022 which was right after or for some student during a
period of prolonged online learning. There were both positive and negative outcomes to online
learning which affect the home culture. One negative was the tendency to multitask, using
multiple forms of media while engaging in online learning. An example was scrolling on tiktok
while watching a zoom lecture. According to the textbook “one study of 8- to 12-year-old girls
also found that a higher level of media multitasking was linked to negative social well-being,
while a higher level of face-to-face communication was associated with positive social
well-being indicators such as greater social success, feeling more normal, and having fewer
friends that parents regarded as a bad influence (Pea & others, 2012)” (p.310). I wonder if
clinicians define chronic media multitasking as a part of PIMU.

The webinar makes me think back to the UNESCO articles about post pandemic
education. Some of the issues in learning may be due to overexposure to screen time and
increased cases of PIMU. During the pandemic I saw my screen time skyrocket and I took a
while to reign in my content consumption. The webinar says that abstinence is not the answer
and instead we should seek a balance. I think Utah Legislators and clinicians should learn more
about PIMU so they can counsel the general public on prevention.