The anxious generation

ABC 190: On the effects of smartphones on mental health

There’s something unsettling about a 60-year-old man who wants to take away your kid’s smartphone. It has the same energy as a school principal trying to enforce a draconian dress code or a talk radio host shouting that TV will rot your brain.

But based on the data, psychologist Jonathan Haidt has a point. Rates of depression and anxiety in the United States—fairly stable in the 2000s—rose by more than 50 percent from 2010 to 2019. Though there are many potential explanations for why, the most convincing is rather simple: young people got smartphones.

In some ways, this discussion feels old hat. For years we’ve been talking about how social media is designed for addiction, how young people are socializing less in person, and how the suicide rate among teenagers is skyrocketing. Attributing a complex set of issues to a six-inch slab of glass and metal seems overly simplistic.

And yet, Haidt makes a compelling case. The youth mental health crisis is perhaps the defining issue of our time, and this is the best article I’ve read on the subject. I’m eager to hear what you think.

Here’s the piece: End the phone-based childhood now

Warmly (from the least-visited country in the world),
Simo 

P.S. The song of the week is a classic R&B bop from an era before smartphones. The full songs of the week playlist is here.

P.S. It’s the last week to register for my course, Designing Your Next Career Step.