In the early 2010s, teens’ mental health took a big turn. According to writer Jonathan Haidt who published the book “The Anxious Generation” had said that parents were, and are still too overprotective about the real world and not online activity. Rates of depression rose with hours being spent on social media.
Phone-based childhood is causing an epidemic of mental illness. There are a lot of issues that come with kids using phones at such a young age. Developing physical and social skills can be a challenge.
When you’re younger your frontal lobe isn’t fully developed, so it can change the way you think, act, and speak,” student Bella S. said.
Children are spending less time socializing in person and spending more time being glued to screens. Children aren’t able to overcome their anxiety and their normal fears. Smartphones pull teens and children away from their immediate surroundings. They are substituting richness of real life things with online made-up things.
“Kids have a rough time getting to know people and being super shy due to lack of in-person socializing,” Bella S. said.
