I really enjoyed this piece, thank you! I was particularly interested that you trace the current smartphone/social media panic back to 2016. I'd be tempted to trace its beginnings earlier than that, to the early 2010s, when news outlets began to increasingly publish articles about the "dangerous trends" that were circulating amongst teens on social media like planking and the cinnamon challenge.
Overall I felt that Haidt's book presents a really inaccurate timeline of teen engagement with tech. His own data shows that teen mental health was stable (perhaps improving) throughout the 2000s, the exact decade when teens began compulsively texting (c. 2001), hanging out on MSN after school, and posting photos of themselves to Bebo or Myspace (c. 2005). It was also the decade the first smartphone was released (2007). So an uptick in mental health problems from 2012 doesn't even really correlate with the arrival of smartphones and social media.
This spoke to me on so many levels. My thirteen year old has a psychiatric disorder (trichotillomania—but she’s had low stress tolerance since she was a baby. Her birth was difficult and I was sick for months after she was born. I assume her emotional and mental fragility stems from that.
But her smartphone has been helpful, actually. She uses it to text me or her dad when she needs something but is uncomfortable asking face to face or if she isn’t feeling well. She uses it to Facetime her friends, none of whom live far away but suburban traffic and diverse schedules means she can’t just run off to see them. Will she let me or her dad teach her how to cook? No. But she’ll have her friends in a group chat and they walk her through simple cooking. It’s so cute. 🥹
The pediatrician tells me to have her and her younger sister assessed for Autism. I was given a high functioning Autism diagnosis in childhood, but I was asocial in a way none of my kids are. They’re shy but highly sensitive to their peers’ social approval. On the occasion I noticed social disapproval I didn’t care. Not that I think they have no Autistic traits, but I don’t think an Autism diagnosis would serve either of them. I think they would both easily get one if I took them for an assessment, and I think that’s entirely due to diagnostic criteria expanding.
My oldest needs help with stress management, but she doesn’t need an Autism diagnosis for that. It certainly wouldn’t make her eligible for any of the Autism programs around here, which have an IQ maximum she exceeds.
And related, every adult I’ve known who acquired an adult Autism diagnosis man. Man. They make me look like a hermit freak. But they also make me look super emotionally stable, so I sometimes wonder if some of them truly do have some psychiatric issue, even if I’m unconvinced we have the same one. (Maybe my diagnosis was wrong though. Not like I know.)
I really enjoyed this piece, thank you! I was particularly interested that you trace the current smartphone/social media panic back to 2016. I'd be tempted to trace its beginnings earlier than that, to the early 2010s, when news outlets began to increasingly publish articles about the "dangerous trends" that were circulating amongst teens on social media like planking and the cinnamon challenge.
Overall I felt that Haidt's book presents a really inaccurate timeline of teen engagement with tech. His own data shows that teen mental health was stable (perhaps improving) throughout the 2000s, the exact decade when teens began compulsively texting (c. 2001), hanging out on MSN after school, and posting photos of themselves to Bebo or Myspace (c. 2005). It was also the decade the first smartphone was released (2007). So an uptick in mental health problems from 2012 doesn't even really correlate with the arrival of smartphones and social media.
Thank you. I enjoyed your piece too. I will share it on Twitter (if thats ok with you) over the next few days.
Thank you! And yes, you are welcome to share the post.
This spoke to me on so many levels. My thirteen year old has a psychiatric disorder (trichotillomania—but she’s had low stress tolerance since she was a baby. Her birth was difficult and I was sick for months after she was born. I assume her emotional and mental fragility stems from that.
But her smartphone has been helpful, actually. She uses it to text me or her dad when she needs something but is uncomfortable asking face to face or if she isn’t feeling well. She uses it to Facetime her friends, none of whom live far away but suburban traffic and diverse schedules means she can’t just run off to see them. Will she let me or her dad teach her how to cook? No. But she’ll have her friends in a group chat and they walk her through simple cooking. It’s so cute. 🥹
The pediatrician tells me to have her and her younger sister assessed for Autism. I was given a high functioning Autism diagnosis in childhood, but I was asocial in a way none of my kids are. They’re shy but highly sensitive to their peers’ social approval. On the occasion I noticed social disapproval I didn’t care. Not that I think they have no Autistic traits, but I don’t think an Autism diagnosis would serve either of them. I think they would both easily get one if I took them for an assessment, and I think that’s entirely due to diagnostic criteria expanding.
My oldest needs help with stress management, but she doesn’t need an Autism diagnosis for that. It certainly wouldn’t make her eligible for any of the Autism programs around here, which have an IQ maximum she exceeds.
And related, every adult I’ve known who acquired an adult Autism diagnosis man. Man. They make me look like a hermit freak. But they also make me look super emotionally stable, so I sometimes wonder if some of them truly do have some psychiatric issue, even if I’m unconvinced we have the same one. (Maybe my diagnosis was wrong though. Not like I know.)
Thank you and thank you for taking the time to provide a thoughtful comment.