THE GREAT RESTRUCTURING OF CHILDHOOD: what makes new generations anxious

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Communication patterns in modern society differ from those that were considered the norm just yesterday. Many parents are concerned that children spend most of their day on their phones and devote less time to traditional communication. Is this acceptable? Heated debates about the impact of smartphones on teenagers’ mental health are carried on by parents and grandparents alike. The data that scientists attempt to rely on remains highly contradictory.

AN ANXIOUS GENERATION

he book The Anxious Generation by psychologist Jonathan Haidt did not end up on last year’s New York Times bestseller list by chance. Haidt points out that modern teenagers spend far more time on smartphones and social networks than on traditional offline play. He is seriously concerned that this is restructuring children’s brains and leading to a sharp rise in mental health disorders.

As a faculty member at the Stern School of Business at New York University, Haidt studied this issue thoroughly and concluded that it did not arise out of nowhere. In a 2024 survey, almost half of U.S. teenagers said they are online almost constantly. A decade earlier, only 24% reported «hanging out» on the Internet. Yet the question of whether smartphones alone are to blame for teenagers’ mental health problems — or whether other factors are also at play — remains open.

Some scientists believe Haidt is exaggerating the situation. After all, it depends on the individual, their background and physiology, as well as the content and context. For some, social media can provide support, useful information, and a wider circle of friends. For others, it can be potentially harmful if screen time displaces healthy activities or encourages self-destructive behavior.

THE GREAT RESTRUCTURING OF CHILDHOOD

Research shows that the rate of childhood mental disorders has risen across many countries over the past two decades. In the U.S., for example, the share of teenagers reporting symptoms of depression increased from 16% in 2010 to 21% in 2015. The problem has a gender bias. Its scale has grown mainly due to girls, among whom the number of suicides rose from 5.4 to 7 per 100,000 over the same period.

While his colleagues maintain that this phenomenon cannot be explained by a single cause, Haidt argues that the surge in mental health disorders coincides with the widespread adoption of smartphones among teenagers, which have largely displaced real-world interaction. He called this process The Great Restructuring of Childhood — a striking metaphor that has undoubtedly added to his book’s popularity.

SMARTPHONES UNFAIRLY DEMONIZED?

Some scientists see the main weakness of such research in the fact that it relies on participants’ subjective perception of the time they spend in front of a screen. In their view, such personal impressions should not serve as the foundation for rigorous scientific models. For example, if young people suffering from depression tend to spend more time on social networks, that does not necessarily mean depression is caused by them.

The U.S. National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine attempted to consolidate all the scientific data on the issue in one review. Based on their analysis, they concluded: at the individual level, there is a slight negative correlation between mental disorders and digital technologies, but on average, it does not appear alarming. The picture was further complicated by experimental data in which people refrained from using smartphones or social networks for a time. Some studies showed that abstaining from social networks improved the condition of those suffering from depression, while others found no such effect.

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A SMARTPHONE HARMS ALMOST ONE IN FOUR?

In the end, the group of scientists stated that it is not smartphones that are dangerous, but the theories about their harm, since they distract the public from more pressing problems contributing to the development of mental health disorders among adolescents, such as poverty, inequality, violence, discrimination, and isolation. In a global multilevel crisis that ultimately affects the psyche, the contribution of digital technologies is minimal.

Nevertheless, Haidt did not give up and, in response to the criticism, put forward new counterarguments. He pointed out that information based on subjective perception is typical material for public health research. In his opinion, such information is often used by researchers to manipulate data — for example, by combining indicators in order to obtain less alarming results.

Thus, a 2021 study conducted among almost 400 adolescents showed that 28% of participants felt worse after using social networks (mainly WhatsApp, Snapchat, and Instagram), 26% felt better, and 45% reported no change at all. If all this data is combined, the average result looks relatively favorable, which can mislead the public.

CAN ONLY SLEEP BE HEALTHY?

Difficulties also arise in diagnosing exactly what the consequences of many hours of smartphone use are. For example, Dimitri Christakis, a pediatrician at the Children’s Health Institute of the University of Washington, wittily remarked: “Nothing a person does for eight or nine hours a day — except sleep — should be considered a healthy activity.” Yet jokes aside, we are increasingly witnessing cases of the destructive influence of social media on children’s mental health.

For instance, 14-year-old British girl Molly Russell was viewing content about self-harm on Instagram and Pinterest before taking her own life. Following an investigation, representatives of Meta, which owns Instagram, and Pinterest found ways to make their platforms safer. Last year, Instagram launched “teen accounts.” These restrict the content that young users can view.

THE DANGER IS STILL THERE…

These cases are isolated, but they provoke parents’ panicked fear — what if it happens to my child? How can a child’s psyche be protected from online threats? A 2022 survey by the Pew Research Center in Washington showed that 46% of teenagers aged 13 to 17 had experienced at least one form of online harassment — for example, receiving unsolicited explicit images. In October of last year, 13 U.S. states and the District of Columbia filed lawsuits against TikTok. The plaintiffs’ claims were based on the allegation that the platform causes addictive behavior and harms the mental health of young people. TikTok, of course, disagreed…

ADVICE FOR PARENTS

While governments and tech companies argue with one another, parents are left in a difficult position: how can they set appropriate boundaries for their children? Before the smartphone era, pediatricians recommended the «two-by-two» rule: no television screens for children under 2, and no more than 2 hours of screen time for older children. But once the television lost the battle for attention to smartphones and tablets, everything became far more complicated. Now parents are advised to create their own media plan — rules that the whole family follows.

For instance, declare the bedroom a screen-free zone, avoid using gadgets during meals, or limit Instagram time to three hours per day. In addition, children must have an alternative to the smartphone: active play, sports, and other activities. Haidt believes that the scientific debate on the harm of smartphones can only be resolved in one way — by scaling up the experiment. For example, by analyzing data from entire schools, some of which ban students from using phones.

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