Smart Phones and Teen Depression
This article is mind-blowing. I have read few like it . . . ever.
The data are clear: smart phones have re-structured the life of teens in the last five years.
I have recommended not letting teenagers have smart phones. A $40 flip phone -- like the dumb phone I own -- is good enough.
Now I have evidence. But I never would have guessed anything like this.
It's not all bad, but psychologically, a lot of it is.
"One of the ironies of iGen life is that despite spending far more time under the same roof as their parents, today’s teens can hardly be said to be closer to their mothers and fathers than their predecessors were. 'I’ve seen my friends with their families—they don’t talk to them,' Athena told me. 'They just say "Okay, okay, whatever" while they’re on their phones. They don’t pay attention to their family.' Like her peers, Athena is an expert at tuning out her parents so she can focus on her phone. She spent much of her summer keeping up with friends, but nearly all of it was over text or Snapchat. 'I’ve been on my phone more than I’ve been with actual people,' she said. 'My bed has, like, an imprint of my body.'"
This is seriously wrong.
Nothing has ever changed teenagers' lives this much, this fast.