“The Anxious Generation” Author: Social Media Is Spreading Mental Illness | Amanpour and Company

Smartphones and social media have taken a toll on young people's development. But one man has an idea about how to fix Gen Z. In his new book, "The Anxious Generation," social psychologist Jonathan Haidt investigates the sudden collapse of mental health among adolescents. The author joins Hari Sreenivasan to discuss ways for parents to head off the damage.
Originally aired on April 1, 2024
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Amanpour and Company features wide-ranging, in-depth conversations with global thought leaders and cultural influencers on the issues and trends impacting the world each day, from politics, business and technology to arts, science and sports. Christiane Amanpour leads the conversation on global and domestic news from London with contributions by prominent journalists Walter Isaacson, Michel Martin, Alicia Menendez and Hari Sreenivasan from the Tisch WNET Studios at Lincoln Center in New York City.
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[@Infinitynow696]

If theres an age limit for alcohol and drugs there should be one for social media.

[@Spock_Rogers]

Bacon and sausage are class 1 carcinogens, same as cigarettes.

[@ttacking_you]

You don't want the damn police to criminalize part of PHONE usage!! Those people are criminals; they live completely enveloped in a milieu of abject criminality! Cops are just as bad as criminals!!

[@sole__doubt]

Sure but the intangibility of social media makes that very difficult to enforce.

[@kathrynoneill81]

Excuses. Take the data away, align with other parents and fix this mess.

[@natalieroy4849]

A ban isn't going to fix the issue at all. Do you not think teens will figure out away around it? Teens have been drinking and using drugs underage for generations. Your best bet is to educate your teens. Set consumption limits. Or entice them to stay away. For instance, I offered my kids $1800 on their 18th birthday if they don't use social media like Instagram. Parents can also talk honestly about how social media has impacted them and model behavior they want to see. Simply 'banning it' is a lazy, band aid solution that does absolutely nothing to address the real issue and encourages your kids to lie to you.

[@HmmmYeahRiiiiiight]

The two downfalls of humanity: social media and reality TV

[@henrytep8884]

More like atomization of individual experience and freedom without responsibility and accountability

[@futures2247]

I would add the DSM mindset to that.

[@Spock_Rogers]

Almost all television "programming" is rubbish.

[@gordongekko2781]

@@Spock_Rogers Yeah, but Reality TV encourages social dysfunction and glorifies extreme materialism. (Kardashians, Real Housewives, Baller Wives, etc.) Many young women idolize these sickos.

[@myradioon]

And now we have the Trifecta of A.I.! Good times!

[@ianchandley]

I nearly lost a dear friendship over a Facebook fight in 2019. When I (52 at the time) found myself reaching for my phone at every stoplight to check the latest post, I realized I had a serious problem, and gave it up. My mental and emotional state improved dramatically and I’ve never been back!

[@stoneneils]

Me too, no phone since 2015...it was the news I didn't need following me around. My mood has been great ever since.

[@KaldoniaKaldonia]

Social media is toxic for everyone’s well-being. It heightens the already unhealthy feelings some of us have about ourselves. It’s not rooted in reality and only serves to create a false narrative about others lives. We need more programs in schools (all grades) and even work places, encouraging folks to leave social media and unplug and connect. Help with outreach to those who feel socially awkward and or isolated. AI is another red flag to avoid. KZbin is now my only social media platform and I’m finally healthy enough to know what’s toxic. Our young people need healthy adults they can model and we need to actively support them and each other.

[@bndergltd3053]

Same here! After getting off of social media (Facebook basically), my mental health has greatly improved. Now I just read books

[@lonzo61]

I bow to all of you for your choice to eshew antisocial media! Way to go.

[@skiphoffenflaven8004]

I gave left FB and IG in 2018. Best decision I’ve made. However, far too many still make it a part of conversation every day, and reach for their phones constantly. ‘Being present’ is a bygone reality.

[@OnionKnight541]

here's an additional point. i work in software (consumer apps). for larger companies and smaller startups. the weird thing is: i've met no one who is passionate about solving this problem (except me!). you'd think people in the industry would 1) acknowledge the problem, 2) be moved by the suffering of children and adults, 3) be motivated to make it better. but for some wild reason, the people in this industry (including the VCs, the execs, the PMs, the devs, the designers) are all practically blind to this as a problem. they are 100x more motivated by "user engagement" than by user health.

[@oldbeatpete]

the notion of free speech representing a wealth of consumer purchasing power fuels them.

[@gregorynuttall]

I work in software as a designer. I actually think a lot of us know, but are unfortunately captive to the paycheck, so most just ignore the problem for self survival. The root of the problem is the profit motive being the main goal for all our businesses. All work just goes towards that aim, not human well-being. The podcast, Your Undivided Attention is fantastic in helping to elaborate the problem more, and great ideas for fixing this.

[@nicolasgirard2808]

No one in this society cares about anything but money

[@chookbuffy]

you are a rare diamond in the rough. I work with a bunch of tech-heads who have hardly any emotional intelligence and show complete cognitive dissonance to it all. my guess is that they have trained their brains through STEM at Uni to not think outside those zones. English literature anyone? yeah right. the incentive structure for our society is not for the health of anyone, just the profits for a few.

[@emerraldx]

Center for Humane Technology with Tristan Harris and Aza Raskin include a bunch of technologists working on solving some of these problems by bringing in some game b solutions to incentive that Star Trek future we are hoping for

[@janinem5196]

This is an extremely important topic. I hope we address this urgently for our children, as the author is suggesting. And I hope that we expand this discussion to include the negative impact on adults as well.

[@tracysample6942]

Democracy is at crisis as well because of social media.

[@hiker-uy1bi]

zero reason why kids should have these in class during school. Ridiculous.

[@dod2304]

I have two kids in their mid 30's. This anxiety is not just in teens, it continues into young adulthood ....as he mentioned, the pre-frontal cortex isn't developed until ape 25 years of age. That part of the brain is also responsible for judgement and decision making! Let's think about that. We have more than enough evidence of that from research and our own observations! It's really good to hear the negative impact spelled out in detail instead of being just theories.

[@michelledavies2197]

Exactly. And also to think in my country we allow kids to get a driver's licence at 16 and it use to 15, utter madness.

[@chrisgilbert5203]

Mine too. So it's something beyond just social media.

[@user-wu1om1rw8t]

How do actual democracies in Canada and European states prepare for the idiotic fascist wave of uneducated and idiotic USA uselessness to defend human rights?

[@lonzo61]

I made the conscious decision years ago to stay with flip phones, and have never regretted it. People sometimes give me grief for it, and I don't give a sh*t. Keep getting the word out, Jonathan Haidt!!!. We need to contain and regulate social media and anything else that is harmful to kids. If adults want to screw up their lives via smart phones and all the pathways they provide that derail their mental health, so be it. But give the kids a chance, at least.

[@nellthomas4966]

Yes. I'm also making the effort to stay away from social media and is planning to get a flip phone. I need peace of mind.

[@pisces031372aj]

It's not hard to put on limits. You do this thing called parenting and say no. That's what I did. No, you can't have a smartphone. No, you can't wear makeup. I don't give a damn what her momma is doing. I'm not her momma, I'm yours. If it's an emergency, the school will call me. Can y'all please start raising your kids? You're making me the bad guy, I don't care, but that's what you're doing.

[@oldbeatpete]

let 'em have it!

[@lonzo61]

YES! I wondered where the modern parents are. I'm glad there are still some around. Too damned many parents want to negotiate with their kids and be their friends. AAARRRRGGGHHHHHHH!!! It makes me crazy. We're ruining a generation!!!

[@pisces031372aj]

@lonzo61 I couldn't agree more. I went to my daughters 6th grade class and some of the girls were in full makeup. Like little adults. I told my daughter absolutely fucking not.

[@stephenbell5600]

My question has always been, WHY? Why did parents of kids create an environment that has now resulted in this situation? Can't blame it on the technology, because parents are the ones that have allowed their kids to be attached to their phones and technology. The issue of helicopter parenting is the one that baffles me the most. Where and Why did/do Gen X parents and Millennial parents feel the need to over-parent their kids? It definitely was not the way our parents modeled behavior for us! It has ultimately created many kids that lack social skills and lack communication skills, but probably the most harmful, is a lot of them cannot handle any type of adversity or fall apart when something is hard or doesn't go their way. It has been a huge injustice to those kids, again I don't blame the kids, I blame the parents for raising them without thinking HOW it was going to affect their lives. Problem is, it will only get worse because those kids then raise kids and it will cycle out of control.

[@pauladuncanadams1750]

The problem is that many of these parents are addicted too and give the kid something to shut them up, quit bothering them,because they're on their phones 24/7. That's child abuse! The ignoring, neglect, abandonment is what the real problem is, IMHO.

[@Julieglam3]

What blows my mind is all the people I see at the gym, in the POOL, JACUZZI, SAUNA & STEAM ROOM on their f@#$ing phones. If you can't be without your phone for ONE HOUR to just RELAX and BE without your damn phone, then you've got a serious problem. Its like people don't know what the hell to do without them in their hand every second of every day. People even have them when they go to the bathroom!!! Its INSANE.

[@kathrynoneill81]

People have joined the Borg.

[@kaigogolin515]

How are you managing? I’m a little bit concerned to just blame people having this problem.

[@louiselloyd1523]

I am in my 70s so all these new 'toys' / 'tools' that have come along in the last 20 years haven't quite affected me the same as it has affected younger people. However, I am very aware of the strange addictive quality of things like social media or even of the internet itself. I do find myself drawn to my computer or phone to find out what's going on and to connect with people. I do think this has affected my attention span in that I seem more likely to hop from one thing to another without watching each one thoroughly. It's like being let loose in a candy store. Mind you that has also had an opposite effect wherein I find there is TOO MUCH choice and I am overwhelmed to the point that I back off and choose nothing. I find that this has happened with music. When I was a teen and young adult I occasionally bought records (LPs). I listened to those records a lot. As technology progressed I moved on to audio tapes and then CDs. Somewhere along the line I became overwhelmed with the vast choice of music so easily available to me and strangely the effect on me was to listen to music less and less. I now listen to much less music than I did back in the 1960s. I don't think this is an age thing. I think this has more to do with an overabundance of availability. Fortunately, even though I have a smart phone I don't tend to. use it like most people do. I don't have it with me all the time and I usually have it off unless I want to use it. Also I leave it on mute most of the time. Mind you at my age there aren't many people trying to reach me on my phone. I take my phone with me when I go out so that my husband can contact me if necessary. I also use it to keep notes and to take photos of products I am buying or am considering buying. But it doesn't dominate my life.

[@oldbeatpete]

you're missing the mark- KZbin music! Both nourishing for the mind and soul... and deliciously addictive!!!😮😊😅

[@pleiadiblu2365]

I often listen to the same KZbin videos, just like I did with my LPs :)

[@lonzo61]

Well put. I do listen to music via youtube, but I only use it for that when I really want to listen to music--no different than when I listened to LP records years ago. It's just a matter of convenience. However, one has to be careful of convenience given exactly the problems your comments describe. The solution is, I suppose, to impose some limits on oneself and remain disciplined in a world that INUNDATES us with choice!!!!!! There is a multitude of distractions and forces at work vying for our attention and dollars. I see it as the dark side of a capitalistic, free market economy. We are, from time to time, confronted with making deals large and small with the devil. Sometimes, the devil swallows us whole when there are so, so many temptations all about us. Oh, and for the record, I'm not religious; but the biblical metaphor works.

[@doug3819]

I am 65 and don't care if people think I'm outdated. I've never owned a smartphone. I have a flip and landline phone. A outside TV antenna. A dumb tv. I do have a tablet. Only have the internet when I can get a Hotspot from the library. I hang my clothes on a clothes line. Hell my clothes last forever. A dryer destroys clothes. My car is a 2001, if it was new I wouldn't trade it for a 2024. Have never owned a DVD player.

[@lonzo61]

@@doug3819 I line dry my clothes, too--year round! Neighbors probably chuckle when they see me hanging my laundry in my yard in the dead of winter. And I own a flip phone. I decided years ago that I would NEVER give in to the "smart" phone madness. I don't own a working TV. And my car is a 2007 Corolla. And yes, as far as many people are concerned, I'm not "with it".

[@tfustudios]

Glad to see Prof. Haidt get some daylight. on this! He's been talking about this for almost a decade!

[@l.w.paradis2108]

1. I am not a Haidt fan, for lots of reasons. 2. HE IS RIGHT ABOUT THIS, and it is urgent.

[@stevezelaznik5872]

11:00 it’s not just kids. I remember 10 years ago when I had to evacuate a skyscraper during a fire. People were slowing down the line in the stairwell because everybody was checking their phones.

[@oldbeatpete]

not funny!😮

[@stevezelaznik5872]

@@oldbeatpeteIt took 45 minutes to evacuate the building. I was on the 33rd floor. Luckily the fire turned out not to be serious, so nobody got hurt.

[@Doggieworld3Show]

Funny how people want to record and text chaos and they get fame for surviving

[@user-vw3xf2dw4t]

Sorry. And I am sick of adults holding phones and checking phones, clearly texting---while--driving!

[@juliettaschoenmann8749]

Also factor in the subconscious effect of having no hope in the future to live the quality of life and opportunities your parents had ….. no chance of a house, good job, climate change, AI etc etc , the future must look very grim and scary .

[@mvann5]

Climate change is scariest of all. And that world population is 8.5 billion... We are all just numbers

[@annunacky4463]

My kids are now understanding the impact of social media and internet content. They are mid 30’s now and seem happier than before they reduced usage. Mom and dad are also. The Stoic philosophy basically said you cannot care about everything at once, so don’t. Even if you feel guilty not empathizing.

[@Spock_Rogers]

Great, less empathy. 🙄

[@annunacky4463]

@@Spock_Rogers Well yes, but not zero! I personally can’t worry about everything and everybody. At some point it harms me, and I can’t do a thing about most other folks issues. I’m so empathetic I have to control it. Thats my tactic lately. Cheers Spock!

[@acerrubrum5749]

The "collective action" didn't work for my go-go boots, make-up or dating. No, teaches resiliency, independence, gratitude, patience, and not being egocentric, privileged, and spoiled No, is not child abuse. 😊 Kids may lose being on a phone but parents loss is not spending all the short and precious time of childhood with their kids as a family. Balance Kids independence with strong family ties. Good parents set boundaries.

[@Spock_Rogers]

Where are these good parents?

[@MarciaMatthews]

“Phone-based childhood interferes with development.”

[@theotherway1639]

Jonathan's book is good, but it pairs great with the workbook called 30 Days Without Social Media by Harper Daniels. It's good to identify the problem and support it with evidence, but finding solutions to the social media issue will be a problem, as it's so integrated into everything...literally everything...governments, businesses, people's identities, institutes, dating, etc.

[@UnkleSi]

The irony of watching this video on KZbin

[@LRoss-pj6qj]

Teachers could have told you this a long time ago. We see it every day: depression, anxiety, bullying, isolation. The list goes on & on. But, it also connects kids & assists them in their education. Moderation and teaching your children how to use these resources responsibly are essential parenting skills.

[@dio2720]

Selfish parents nowadays have little interest in what's best for their kids . Lead by example and put your phones down and do your job as a parent

[@MartianTom]

Only thing I'd disagree with is that we're all dominated by this tech. Not all of us. I refuse point-blank to have a smartphone, and no amount of subtle coercion to have one (phone-based payment systems, encryption, etc) will EVER induce me to have one. Texts and calls only for me - and on my terms. Which is why, when I go out, I never take my phone if I want to be quiet and have privacy (most of the time, basically) And even with my computer at home, I only use the internet selectively and for set periods of time. That's it. Nevertheless, I get called a 'dinosaur'. No, I'm not a dinosaur. I know how this tech works and what it can do. Which is why I'm also not a lemming.

[@janiekcarney5482]

I was watching TicTok 13 hours a day. I stopped and deleted the app. Now I’m watching this channel instead.

[@janiekcarney5482]

I’m 70 and my attention span is shorter. I get impatient if a video lasts too long. About 18 minutes works. These videos are 18 minutes.

[@pauladuncanadams1750]

That's why I play what I consider traditional card games or board games. I REALLY resented needing my step son to pull away from the game and him telling me he can't because he has to finish a level or lose it. An hour later and he's still there. OMG, that made me SO ANGRY!!!

[@lewisstrouse19]

This was the better of his several recent interviews on this subject. Teachers saw this coming “right out of the box”. And, from what’s reported, Silicon Valley has had no problem separating their own kids from tech.

[@sevenone32]

We need the government to start funding public service commercials. Like back in the day we had the "do you know where your children are" commercials. We need the same for social medias effects on kids

[@muchamocha7]

Yes!

[@myradioon]

When 16 year old Girls have skin aging routines you know something went wrong.

[@pmorph]

I cannot agree more with the message here--social media/smart phones is a disaster for our teenagers. The added tragedy for the US is of course, the worry about needing kids to be in touch in case of a school shooting... That doesn't even register as a concern for us outside the US...

[@pauladuncanadams1750]

One of the problems here is addicted parents. I've seen many parents out in the public who are entranced by their phone screens that completely ignore, neglect, and abandon their children. They give them a tablet to shut them up so that they can keep feeding their own phone addiction. THIS is the real problem, IMHO. It's child abuse and that's where the children's mental health issues really stem from.

[@Will_Moffett]

"In 2010 there is no sign of mental health crisis" Except for daily mass shootings and a steady rise in both depression and SSRI prescriptions you mean? Maybe social media exposure is only an accelerant of the latent desperation and status anxiety that is a built in feature of our particular economic organization.

[@l.w.paradis2108]

Now THIS is a great point.

[@lonzo61]

Pretty fair point.

[@user-ov6zy2dh4d]

Kids watch their parents do the same thing. It is the pot calling the kettle black

[@intheshell35ify]

Engaging guest. Excellent questions.

[@alysonturcin-weller7443]

Thank you Sir. I have been praying someone would do and publish a study like yours. Thank you so very very much.

[@screentimeclinic]

All excellent points that we have been articulating for years! Thanks for bringing more awareness to this!!

[@Maliceless100]

Not a fan of DeSantis but he's spot on in his latest cause - hope a movement is started, and Congress shows bipartisan support for our kids.

[@pontificusvascillious5287]

censorship of those you don't agree with? desantis is a fascist ... i hope he fails at everything he does ...

[@Spock_Rogers]

How does forcing women and girls to have children they don't want and/or can't take care of help society? How does bullying already marginalized people help anyone except white males?

[@Spock_Rogers]

*straight Christian white males

[@debbiecreter2005]

Thank you, Mr. Haidt, for discussing this very crucial topic. Every educator and parent needs to read your book and push for laws to protect our country’s children from this grave impact from social media. I will be interested in any news pieces on how Mark Zuckerberg and his wife parent their children in the use of social media and the impact on them.

[@DodongoManoof]

No more touching grass 😢

[@JerryKaczmarek-xt2hu]

I completely agree and I'm grateful I'm not growing up in this particular present. I'm 55, and grew up in the eighties which was more simplistic, playing ball all day long and riding bikes with friends. I feel for our youth in the present. Sad state of affairs unfortunately and greetings from New Orleans.

[@DodongoManoof]

@JerryKaczmarek-xt2hu yep, I grew up in the 90s near Chicago, i was outside every damn day riding my bike, shooting hoops, and when the weather was bad we'd play a video game in person at the same house, I've always thought the lack of grass touching may be bad, but damn I cannot imagine the lifestyle of a kid today 🥺

[@halcyon-cg2eb]

@@DodongoManoofDamn!

[@bobsaltzman6169]

I had a hell of a time finding this man on KZbin or anywhere ,I wonder why? it is so obvious this is scary folks and people don’t even see it.

[@jeanine5940]

I'm so thankful my kids do not have phones and I don't plan on giving them one anytime soon. How can we fix this for other kids that have already been using smartphones?

[@aubreyj.tennant1123]

7:22 What else do all these other countries having the same issues have in common? All of them are governed by a system of corporate greed! Great video, thank you! 👍💪

[@charlotteiliu]

So cool!! Love social psychology and Haidt. And yes it's a bad problem.

[@xorrior4438]

Accurate. But because of money once again we WILL DO ABSOLUTELY NOTHING ABOUT IT!

[@mvann5]

Used to be parents told their kids to go out and play. That was far safer and healthier.

[@russh6414]

What you have now is am army of the living dead (stupid people on cell phones) when you are outside. Parents like these platforms because they keep their kids occupied. Parents need to start parenting and educating their kids however they are too preoccupied on the Internet to do it... Before cellphones there were helicopter parents!

[@hrdcpy]

The living dead behind the wheel in frightening. Car insurance prices are not going down.

[@duroxkilo]

let me point out something i concluded a while back that's rarely mentioned, something that is more tangible than say 'policies for user retention' : a very very very small percent of "online users" have the power to make the "online experience" super toxic for a very very very large percent... i'm not attempting an excuse of sorts for the intentional harm being done by social media platforms w/ their effort to hijack teens' attention at any costs. but think about my point as an extra detail, and why that's still the case after a few decades i've been working on "online things"... ps: it's a truly nightmare situation that also boils down to the unwillingness of some entities to keep in check a few problematic elements that generate a lot of engagement for them...

[@vinkoivomilicdiaz6932]

Social media not for tweens. Great interview, @hari. This it is a extended version of the recent interview on the @NewsHour. #PBSNEWS #AmanpourPBS

[@har8397]

Social media is the worst but parents need to own their parenthood. And if they're too busy and exhausted to do so, vote. And while you're at it, vote for ppl who will use our wealth to help support our ppl through a better social net state

[@Me97202]

Social media is one of the worst things to ever happen to our society. I can’t think of a single positive.

[@lindaswanson9328]

Yes. So agree with this. It's how people can also become radicalized more easily. Video games make me so hyper and intense. Not a good feeling. It's all manipulation of the brain. Needs more studying.

[@mgbilby]

The US congress needs to act on this. It's crucial.

[@hklinker]

At 63, I’m not sure I’ve escaped anything. On my iPhone right now, I have 300 open windows. Included are half watched YT lectures, fix it manuals, info on govt programs, obituaries, definitions of words,…all of them somehow too important to close. Oh, and there are the two fantasy hockey pools I belong to and the many windows full of stats and player/team info. Right now I’m in a big argument over how these pools should be run while arguing with a whole other group about how their favourite team sucks and mine is great. It has occurred to me I have a problem. Screen time (made up to some extent by just listening ) is 9-10 hours a day. I know it’s affecting me and I can’t (yet) imagine how I’m going to get a grip on it.

[@mk1st]

Do the opposite of "get a grip"

[@chookbuffy]

yeah i would say its not worth trying to know everything. Knowing yourself through quiet meditation is the way to go me thinks (i'm doing a course now on Mindfullness)

[@lonzo61]

Get rid of the "smart" phone and get a flip phone or land line. I'm not kidding.

[@lonzo61]

Oh, and I am just as susceptible to FOMO and dopamine hits as you.....and everybody on the planet. And I admit that I spend too much time on my desktop computer. So, I'm guilty and am a hypocrite to some extent. But I own a flip phone, and am happy to report that I've never owned a smart phone.

[@7YBzzz4nbyte]

Factory reset the phone? Think of it as escaping a ship on an evacuation vessel.

[@dzurfluh2156]

What’s also missing at the moment is that for example Apple and Google take the management of phone use seriously. The built in tools are far from good enough and the companies don’t seem to care the problems have been persisting over several versions of OS.

[@CarlosLopez-dk4xo]

I deleted FB and IG about two weeks ago. I can honestly say that I feel more calm, can focus on work (get stuff done much quicker) have more free time for other projects.. and my sleep has improved a lot! thought I was missing out.. I had one friend reach out two days ago noticing that I was no longer on social media. nobody cares if you have it or not.

[@anneminneapolis5368]

I am so grateful that I've never had a mobile phone. I think it has a lot to do with my peaceful, contented life...being present, engaged in the moment.

[@lonzo61]

Good for you. I have a flip phone because I have no land line. But I will NEVER own a "smart" phone.

[@7YBzzz4nbyte]

It's not the phone per se, it's what programs you run on it. You can have one for your online banking, doctor's contact and so on.

[@anneminneapolis5368]

Yes, thanks, I know. I just use my desktop computer for banking, email, etc., easy peasy. @@7YBzzz4nbyte

[@chrisgilbert5203]

Not sure the Millennials turned out okay as he says. This didn't all start happening with social media. Many around my kids' age (30's) have gone in and out of college, have therapists and medication, are drifting.

[@dalepetersen1166]

Millennial woman literally track their kids with a smart phone app. They would chew their kids out if the kid left the phone home so they couldn't be tracked

[@stoneneils]

That is what I was worried about...a generation of momma's boys.

[@BlanBonco]

I feel tracked by my phone and I'm an adult who nobody needs to track but that would have been stifling. What a horrible combo Mark & Mom

[@gaywizard2000]

You mean millennial women

[@PalmBeachDog]

Not having kids is an option.

[@gaywizard2000]

@@PalmBeachDog depending how Republican your state is Dog!

[@jaydee11.11]

Ive been saying these for months! And ppl don't recognize the effects they have on their posts. We who grew up without internet has some kind of barrier with it but the younger generations does not. They will be the ones suffering the most. Even kid's games nowadays are so dark. The games are about death, monsters etc

[@ColinCampbell-mf9sr]

this issue reminds me of some verses from the beginning of the Yoga sutras where the problem is less a social issue but not knowing how the mind works 1.2 Yoga is the stilling of the changing states of mind. 1.29 From this comes the realization of the inner consciousness and freedom from all disturbances. 1.31 (elsewise) Suffering, dejection, trembling, and disturbed breathing accompany these distractions. 1.32 The process of focusing on a singular concern/practice should be performed to eliminate these disturbances.

[@clairjunior5291]

“May you live in interesting times” saying has proven to be a curse.

[@neilmahar7107]

Kids DONT need phones.

[@PalmBeachDog]

Sorry folks. But like my grandma used to say… The toothpaste is out of the tube.

[@pontificusvascillious5287]

just get another tube ... toothpaste is cheap ... (buy it packs of 5 or 10) did grandma tell you THAT?

[@myradioon]

@@pontificusvascillious5287 You'll find a new brain is harder and more expensive to find. Sorry for you.

[@pontificusvascillious5287]

@@myradioon did grandma teach you to disparage, dismiss, discount and delegitimize OTHERS? if so ... your grandma was wrong ... 🥴

[@monicaluketich6913]

​@pontificusvascillious5287 I don't think you understand the comment about the toothpaste. It's closer to " the cat is out of the bag, and no food or treats will get that cat back into the bag." Cell phone usage is here and is causing many problems, from lack of attention during classes, bullying, frustration if they have to wait 30 seconds for something to upload. I saw the server upload problem at NASA new hire training. Here are the creme of the crop of (mostly) college students who can not wait 30-60 seconds for their final exam on a topic to load from the server, but instead, pull out their cellphones and check their emails. We told them time and again "no cellphones on while waiting for the exam." They COULD NOT WAIT and got called out each time we found them doing it. It's like they are on uppers - how are they going to sit for hours during more indepth training or during simulations to learn their equipment or to communicate with astronauts!(

[@murrkieryel6602]

People are scared to be good parents

[@lonzo61]

I think that is a valid point.

[@KO-uy1gr]

As an adult, my workplace (a local government agency) gave us outlook email, then a work cell phone for texting, THEN Teams instant messaging. So as I work at my desk, my phone is blowing up, emails are coming in faster than I can read them, and instant messages are constantly pinging. My question: how can a human being get any work done??? We can’t. It’s literally crazy making and anxiety inducing.

[@amyd7794]

I blame Mark Zuckerberg for the majority of this modern world’s disturbance, political and personal.

[@pontificusvascillious5287]

how SIMPLE of you ... i blame the CORE of what it is to be HUMAN ... which is documented in some of the oldest and most revered books in the world ... (a flood that killed everyone)

[@kathleenscullion8348]

Rational,well thought out, persuasive thinking.😢

[@rosieE121]

I notice that young people depend on their phones for security. To them it is a lifeline to their parents in case of real threat of mass violence to schools, public spaces. They feel in danger without the phone sitting in front of them.

[@ddigiorgio8438]

Wondering what the data shows in communities such as the Amish or other very conservative/restrictive communities?

[@skiphoffenflaven8004]

We see this in college students more and more every year. It makes teaching quite difficult, a walking on eggshells career that was not that way before. It becomes far too much about ‘being careful’ instead of educating, giving learning advice, and sharing knowledge bases.

[@mkpnjbh933]

this is a serious topic. everyone since early 2010s mostly kids are always elsewhere bc of the phones

[@CarrieV9]

I once worked with a woman who spent hours every week curating her public Instagram page with images of her 3 beautiful preteen and teen daughters. Bad idea on so many levels. I worried for those girls and their mental health.

[@rhyothemisprinceps1617]

The etiology of most illnesses usually involves multiple factors. It's easy to pick one thing and focus only on that. To some extent, this is necessary for scientific investigation - like picking at threads in a knot one at a time in order to untangle it. But just picking at one thread only doesn't work. We have had an unprecedented, increasing onslaught of synthetic chemical exposures across several generations. Aspartame consumption at levels comparable to typical human dietary intakes has been shown to cause anxiety like behaviors in mice - and the effects were transgenerational. Might be something to look into.

[@singzikade1103]

Social Media can be devastating

[@AmericaArchives]

What does Hari Sreenivasan does live in New York Studios?

[@pauladuncanadams1750]

It's not just my step son and his friends affected by video games, it's my husband too. It can get pretty lonely when the computer is his mistress.

[@suranjanabasu498]

Adults are also badly affected.

[@andrewlim9345]

Thanks, watching from NZ. I struggle to disconnect from the Internet as a Millennial in my 30s. The NZ government is implementing a school cellphone ban, which will come into effect from 29 April. Many schools have already instituted cellphone bans or limits. Could social media addiction be a result of unrestrained free market capitalism.

[@anikettripathi7991]

It's very painful if we aren't on winning side. It's not always possible. Because others are also trying.

[@rhmendelson]

Hmm, maybe the kids need to be up to more than just hanging out on social media!

[@rosemarywilliams9969]

Did You Say Book??? Like on Kindle. Or RL Tree Made Book.

[@Martin-qm2lg]

It’s absolutely sick and dangerous

[@dio2720]

If a company as large as facebook started giving cigarettes and alcoholic to kids would anyone do anything about it ? Probably not .

[@stevefrench3564]

this dude is smart af!!

[@antoniotan8975]

Sue the social media if you have data. Fight the lobbies!

[@kathrynoneill81]

Irresponsible parents. Take the data off the kids phones! You are complicit. Like Jonathan says: we need collective action, so get together with your kids'friends' parents and take the data off, provide better activities.

[@tracysample6942]

I'm 64 and the constant notifications drive me to distraction!!

[@powaytheband]

I see the change in older adults turning into drooling pavlovian dogs

[@alphaomega8373]

Its the internet, not just a specific area of it.

[@pontificusvascillious5287]

that's pretty absolute ... have you traversed the ENTIRE internet to know it's EVERYTHING? (there's gotta be something good)

[@DaisyIdes]

Gen X IMO was also an anxious generation. They were hovering helicopter parents that changed childhood from being free to being managed.

[@pontificusvascillious5287]

i'm not dominated by my phone ... the phone is (maybe) one of the few things i have control over ... 🥴

[@thomaslapins6022]

Nice to see your self-imposed no electronic isolation is over. I imagine this is your offsprnig. "The Righteous Mind" was an illuminating read. Though it is many years ago. For some reason I associate you with "The Lottery of Birth" movement. It is laid out in such a way that it's a smooth and revealing read. I will go to Amazon and purchase it. The best to you, and yours.

[@kaibae4791]

Perhaps the books delves into more, but I believe this interview misses the bigger picture. It seems that the author is attempting to address the symptom of a larger problem. I agree that social media can be harmful, but I also believe that it shows people a shared humanity. Children are becoming anxious and depressed because they see what they perceive to be a very bleak future and little action by "adults" to address their concerns. Social media is a mirror of society, I think the bigger question should be, what is society doing to harm people? It has become abundantly clear to younger generations that those in power, both business and government, to make improvements in society are far more interested in making a quick buck than working toward a more harmonious future. It's a lot harder to be nihilistic when you aren’t aware of just how poorly our society treats the average person. I am not sure the answer is the proverbial "hide your head in the sand" and pretend everything is fine.

[@pauladuncanadams1750]

I wouldn't argue the point. All you say is true but that doesn't mean that this isn't a factor also.

[@pablosilva6988]

Social media is above the law, yes?profit trumps all else.

[@AlmaVasquezjr]

Instead of social media, why not have parties, where people can be social, no one throws parties. And no one lives with relatives, the average home has only 3 people, when the kids need 12 people in their lives.

[@caseystrange]

If it wasn't for the far left, I would be more sympathetic to this right now. If I set that aside, I would say that the bigger issue is that these tech companies don't have the man power or moderators to combat the trolling, the adult content exposure to minors, the statements and opinions of the anti social and mentally ill and the abuse from people who lead lives such as that and wish to hurt others out of the flag of anonymity. On the opposite end, some of these people would probably end up doing something to go to jail if they were not doing stuff like this. Not necessarily a fact on that last statement there, but I have a strong hunch that this would potentially happen. The internet was supposed to be a tool for intellectual growth, community support and improving on one's hobby and or craft. One minor trivial thing I miss about the older days of social media was that it encouraged people to learn to write code if they wanted a flashy profile. I miss that. And the music.

[@ywtcc]

The timeframe is coincidental with the post 2008 perpetual debt slavery economy. In general, I read social media as symptom rather than cause. Society is sick, and psychology the science needs to provide better analysis before psychiatry the practice can be prescribed.

[@scarpfish]

One of these days, we're going to look at social media the same way we do cigarettes. That day needs to come soon.

[@johnrolle6645]

I am sure that not all classes of people have the luxury to send their kids to camp. But it seems re-introducing camp and the wild for our kids for two or three weeks out the year without devices. We urban kids somewhere in middle school all had the "camp roughing" it experience away from home and tv and other modern accoutrements. Some version of it for all kids from 4th grade to high school graduation and perhaps doing it like drugs or alcohol rehab centers ala Betty Ford center. It probably is a very expensive proposition to have it required for all school systems but the benefits probably would far outweigh the problems around implementing. And they should be probably be undocumented experiences ie without pictures and video and so forth so they can only relate the time shared from memory.

[@deborahhoffman7394]

My grandchildren have been ruined over this and it seems there is nothing to be done. No one us taking ut seriously.

[@martingrey2231]

Remember, adults and the middle aged are also on social media. I know a lot of them 🤔