Smartphone standoff? Jonathan Haidt on first steps in real life

A quick blast of smartphones culture information, as tmatt heads to Alaska (where the cruise boat has WiFi)

A quick word on a familiar (some may say too familiar) topic before I rush out the door to travel from the mountains of East Tennessee to Seattle, where we will hop on a cruise boat headed to Alaska.

According to legions of YouTube videos, I can expect decent WiFi while I am on this week-long cruise. I have prepared research files for some quick posts, so there should be at least three Rational Sheep offerings during that time. Who knows, I may even be able to record the “Crossroads” podcast while gliding past a glacier.

But first, here is some information that I have promised readers who have contacted me through social media. I know that I keep mentioning (here and here, for example) Jonathan Haidt’s work in the much discussed “The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness.”

But what are people supposed to do about this “signal” from our culture?

In a post the other day — “What changed when parents gave their 10-year-old her first iPad?” — I gave readers four bullet points in which Haidt sums up the effects of this crisis.

* Social deprivation: U.S. teens spend far less time in person with friends.

* Sleep deprivation: Sleep quantity and quality have plummeted.

* Attention fragmentation: Teens get hundreds of notifications daily, which destroys their ability to stay on task.

* Addiction: Teens are compelled to use phones in ways that resemble slot machine gamblers, with profound consequences to their well-being and relationships.

Now, for those of you who have been talking to pastors, teachers, counselors and others about smartphones issues, here are some “news you can use” resources for follow-up work — drawn from an After Babel Substack article by Haidt and his research colleague Zach Rausch: “It’s Time To Free The Anxious Generation.”

But first things first: Let’s ask an obvious and painful question. What is the powerful force that protects smartphone culture (other than the economic clout of Big Tech)? Haidt and Rausch write:

Fear. The fear of missing out. The fear of being the only parents who keep their 12-year-old off of social media. It’s the fear of being alone, even though the phone-based life is making most people lonelier. 

The path forward, therefore, is to act together, and that’s the ultimate lesson of The Anxious Generation. We can escape from a series of collective action traps by implementing four new norms:

1. No smartphones before high school

2. No social media before 16

3. Phone-free schools

4. More independence, free play, and responsibility in the real world

As Zach and I have been speaking on the book to many audiences, we find that we don't need to convince many people about the nature of the problem. Most people see it. Our main opponents are despair and resignation.

True, that.

Some parents seem genuinely afraid of discussing the subject of changes in the technology norms in their homes. Meanwhile, most religious leaders are silent, based on what I see, or do not see, online. I assume that they know this is an explosive topic.

Thus, resources? In addition to getting a free or paid version of After Babel, head to the libraries of material at AnxiousGeneration.com. A sample from Haidt and Rausch:

• The evidence: A single webpage in which Zach walks you through the key graphs in the book and beyond. …

• Our collaborative review docs and supplementary docs for the book, which go far beyond the book to collate research on related topics such as phone-free schools, porn, video games, and findings from many specific countries.

• Sample petition that parents can send to schools to go phone-free and play-full.

• Two-page guide with steps for parents.

• Two-page guide with steps for educators.

• Our list of dozens of aligned organizations.

Also, there are images and text to help readers spread information on this subject via social media.

If you are looking for digital research folders on specific topics, look here:

• The International Youth Mental Health Crisis

• The Case Against the Phone-Based Childhood

• The Case for More Independence, Free Play, and Responsibility in the Real World

• Voices of Gen Z

That ought to be enough for now, in terms of keeping concerned readers busy until I make it to Alaska. There will be a “Crossroads” podcast post tomorrow.

FIRST IMAGE: Uncredited illustration of the biblical Tower of Babel, care of the Ancient Origins website.