Oxford Internet Institute Lies about Teens Health

In early 2019, the Oxford Internet Institute (OII) produced and published in previously reputable journals papers purporting to reject association between Big Tech services and adolescents’ mental damage: Orben & Przybylski (2019), Orben & Przybylski (2019), Orben, Dienlin, & Przybylski (2019). OII is funded by Big Tech, leftist foundations, and multiple governments.

As noticed by Jonathan Haidt and Jean Twenge, these papers share the same defect with an earlier paper by OII. They incorrectly assume linear association between Big Tech services’ use and the health outcome, when the association is non-linear. Negative health outcomes are associate with heavy or typical use of Big Tech services.

Almost immediately after publication, Facebook used these “studies” in an unmarked advertorial it had published in The Telegraph, UK. This and other evidence establish a pattern in OII “research” – low effort, low quality, incorrect studies with conclusions supporting funders’ agendas, and broad media coverage.

The same methodological defect was present in OII papers on this subject since Przybylski & Weinstein (2017).

The following chart shows the suicide rate among girls of 13-17. It has increased by 2.6 times from 2007 (when iPhone was introduced) to 2017, possibly because of the so-called social media and/or smartphones.

Data Source: https://webappa.cdc.gov/sasweb/ncipc/mortrate.html, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System (WISQARS)