“Suppose your first child turns 10 and some visionary billionaire you’ve never met chooses her to be the first human settlement on Mars… Do you want to let go?”
“Of course not,” writes Jonathan Haidt.
But social psychologists say in their upcoming book, An Anxious Generation: The Great Rewiring of Childhood is Driving an Epidemic of Mental Illness, that parents are keeping their children on virtual planets for untold lengths. They claim that they are doing the same deals as Big Tech. For hours every day.
Haidt, a professor at New York University’s Stern College who specializes in ethical leadership, writes that the past decade has seen a “fundamental transformation of childhood into a non-human, phone-based existence.”
In fact, as he points out, teenage girls spend an average of 20 hours a week on social media, which effectively amounts to a part-time job.
Research shows that this generation is the most depressed and anxious generation in history.
Haidt, whose book will be published on March 26, argues that smartphones and social media have contributed to a “great rewiring” of childhood, leading to sleep deprivation, social deprivation, fragmented attention, addiction and mental health problems. They claim that it is causing a decline.
The result, he says, is the most depressed and anxious generation in history. However, boys and girls are affected differently.
“Social media is really impacting girls,” Hite told the Post. “It takes all the worst parts of middle school life – social comparison, attention to one’s appearance, anxiety – and turns them up tenfold.”
A meta-analysis of studies examining the effects of social media on young people found a link between heavy social media use and poorer mental health among girls.
But when it comes to boys, there aren’t as many one-on-one connections.
“For boys, the story is less clear-cut. None of them smoke guns,” Hite explained. “They’re just going through a gradual detachment from the real world that boys have historically striven for.”
He points to porn and video games as major factors, adding: “This trend is really accelerating as virtual worlds become so great and engaging.”
Mr. Hite is the father of a 14-year-old daughter and a 17-year-old son.
“We still have the same problems that all parents have, which is just telling them to stop spending so much time on screens,” he says. “There is still a chronic tug-of-war over usage.”
She gave cell phones to her son in fourth grade and her daughter in sixth grade because they walked to school in New York City, but in hindsight, she wishes she had given her a flip phone instead of a smartphone. .
But Hite said both of his children have benefited from a family rule that prohibits them from using social media until they are 16. He similarly advises his other parents to refrain from using smartphones until high school.
“We have to not only slow the adoption of phones, but also provide engaging real-world activities,” he said. “[Parents] We don’t protect our children enough online, but we also overprotect them in real life. And we need to address both aspects.
“Children need to be firmly anchored in the real world with real relationships, real responsibilities and real love. Virtual activities are no substitute,” he added.
Professor Haidt said Gen Z is receptive to his message and wants to see change.
“They recognize the problems of their childhood when they used cell phones. They know it’s a huge waste of time,” he told the Post. “But when I ask people why they don’t quit TikTok or Instagram, they say they can’t quit because everyone else is doing it.”
He sees this as part of a larger collective action problem, where individuals want to make a change but can’t because the group doesn’t, and that’s why we I think it numbs me and keeps me glued to the screen.
“Despite most people hating what’s happening, we’re stuck in a collective action problem that we can’t solve.”
“An Anxious Generation” is full of solutions, with entire chapters written about what families, schools, educators, and big tech companies can do to bring childhood back to earth.
“If we all work together, we can pretty much solve this problem within a year,” he told the Post. “These are collective action problems, and they can be solved through collective action, even if we don’t have the cooperation of legislators.”
Solutions he suggests include avoiding smartphones and social media use until teenagers, banning cell phone use in class, and promoting unsupervised play in early childhood. included.
He says it’s a shortcut to solving our collective action problems. A truly phone-free school will allow all students to be more present with each other. ”
And Hite believes parents are ready for change.
“It’s like pushing into an open door,” he told the Post. “Everyone is fed up with the impact that cell phones have on our children and our lives. No matter where we go, no matter who we talk to, they want to help and they want to read. .”
