We need research because we’re not running an experiment globally. An experiment would involve a randomly selected treatment and control group. I’m guessing it seems obvious to you that social media is responsible for a wide array of ills. But, as a researcher, I can’t trust what is “obvious”. Because a lot of things that have seemed obvious have ended up being wrong such as leeches as a treatment for illness, or that the earth is flat. And there certainly have been quite a few confounds over the past twenty years: the financial crisis, the pandemic, deindustrialization brought about by China’s rise, the fracturing of the news media in general, and on and on. Which is to say that I don’t care what your identity is; I care what evidence you have. Because without evidence all we have is our gut, and history has shown that the gut isn’t a very good indication of truth.