[LAP-news] Morning Brew & phones

[Mark Rauterkus]

A social psychologist known for bashing trigger warnings and safe spaces is
back with another controversial take on what’s ailing today’s youth that’s
got everyone talking about whether phones need to be kept on a shelf too
high for kids to reach.

In his new book, *The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of
Childhood is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness*, NYU business school
professor Jonathan Haidt argues that the replacement of “play-based
childhood” with “phone-based childhood” is the major cause of rising rates
of adolescent mental illness around the world.

There’s no doubt that the world is in the midst of a youth mental health
crisis, but the book has sparked a debate over something you may remember
from Intro to Psychology: correlation vs. causation.

*Haidt says…*people born around the turn of this century (aka Gen Z) are
the first humans to have grown up with smartphones, which *caused *this
generation to develop depression and anxiety disorders in way higher
numbers than older generations. He says his book cites several experimental
studies
<https://links.morningbrew.com/c/i_F?mblid=44493cc6665e&mbcid=34890787.910533&mid=85a9c17ed9cb3859bbb2cd299f504758&mbuuid=mx3yTZnkR34ufMhgK3hsX9kX>
that
allow researchers “to infer causality” and 64 studies that show
“significant correlations” between phone usage and poor mental health.

But his critics say that inference might be too big a leap.

   - There’s evidence showing *correlation*between rising rates of
   smartphone usage and youth mental illness, but nothing to prove that one
   causes the other, psychologist Candice L. Odgers wrote
   <https://links.morningbrew.com/c/i_G?mblid=99d0a2b31d35&mbcid=34890787.910533&mid=85a9c17ed9cb3859bbb2cd299f504758&mbuuid=mx3yTZnkR34ufMhgK3hsX9kX>
in
   her review of the book for *Nature*. (You can read Haidt’s response here
   <https://links.morningbrew.com/c/i_H?mblid=2fbec0f6f9cf&mbcid=34890787.910533&mid=85a9c17ed9cb3859bbb2cd299f504758&mbuuid=mx3yTZnkR34ufMhgK3hsX9kX>
   .)
   - Judith Warner’s review
   <https://links.morningbrew.com/c/i_I?mblid=18fb90f6703a&mbcid=34890787.910533&mid=85a9c17ed9cb3859bbb2cd299f504758&mbuuid=mx3yTZnkR34ufMhgK3hsX9kX>
for
   the Washington Post argues that Haidt “minimizes” the psychological impact
   of growing up in the fallout of 9/11, economic turmoil, school shootings,
   the climate crisis, and a far-too-long list of other stressors.
   - Openness to mental health counseling has also increased as reported
   rates of anxiety have increased, Yale finance professor Paul
   Goldsmith-Pinkham pointed out
   <https://links.morningbrew.com/c/j0e?mblid=12d5f474e0d4&mbcid=34890787.910533&mid=85a9c17ed9cb3859bbb2cd299f504758&mbuuid=mx3yTZnkR34ufMhgK3hsX9kX>
on
   X.

*Big picture: *Everybody pretty much agrees that cutting down screen time
and subbing in more exercise, socializing, and sunshine are good ideas.*—ML*
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