By Gavin Boyle
Jonathan Haidt says it is so difficult for children today to live without technology, but society can make changes so they can enjoy their youth without the burden of tech.
“Our young people are less happy, more anxious and depressed, they know less, their attention is fragmented, they’re lonely, and they feel that their life is pointless. We’ve got to stop what we’re doing [in regards to technology],” Haidt told Dr. Jordan B. Peterson.
While most parents now know about the negative effects technology has on their children and worry about how it impacts them, it can often feel like they can’t to anything about it, at least until more laws are passed. Many state legislations have taken on this task, working to wrangle back big tech’s control over our children through initiatives like phone-free school days and stringent social media age laws.
Haidt, however, believes that changes on a societal level also need to be made, which requires parents to do some of the hard work and impose restrictions on their children that the government does not.
“It’s a collective action problem,” he explained. “How do you solve a collective action problem? Collectively. So, I propose four norms that if we can do these four norms, we [can] roll out the phone-based childhood. And there’s a role for different actors too, but here are the four main norms.”
“The first is no smartphone before high school…,the second is no social media until 16…,the third norm is phone-free schools…, and then, the fourth norm is far more free play, far more independent free play and responsibility in the real world,” he explained.
Haidt was one of the first psychologists to claim that social media and smartphones are inextricably linked to the epidemic of anxiety and depression young Americans face today. His argument has since been supported by the former U.S. Surgeon General who called for a Surgeon General’s warning to be placed on all social media in June 2024.
Related: Psychologist Urges Parents to ‘Act Together’ to Keep Kids Off Smartphones
At the same time, many work to implement the norms that Haidt proposes, including celebrities who have long understood the negative impacts of allowing the public into private parts of life. For this reason, many stars already restrict their children’s access to technology, and HGTV’s Ben and Erin Napier even created an organization for parents who are looking to keep their children without social media until after high school.
“This is us teaching our children: You deserve more,” Erin explained. “You are capable of a whole lot more if you can skip social media and cell phones until you’re older. Until you’re ready, you’ll have your growing group of Osprey friends who are having the same low-tech adolescence.”
While it is difficult, our children do deserve more, and parents need to band together to protect their kids from the negative effects of technology that ravage their physical and mental health.
Read Next: Erin and Ben Napier Say This Happens When You Keep Your Kids Off Screens
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