> And what if it turns out that I am wrong? What if, in reality, the multinational collapse of adolescent mental health in the early 2010s was not caused by the arrival of phone-based childhood; it was just a big coincidence. Will kids be damaged by these four norms? I don’t think so. What irreversible harm will be done to children who spend more time listening to their teachers during class, more time playing and exploring together outdoors, and less time sitting alone hunched over a device?
I lived in a twilight zone where smartphone became available to masses right during middle school, and I can attest that if smartphones are banned kids will simply move on to computers or other networked handheld devices. Kids are more knowledgeable than adults give credit for and know how they are being manipulated, as well as workarounds. No phone policy in schools were routinely violated; for example, they carry multiple phones and hand out only one of them. There are guides available online how to break parental control (with varying effectiveness ofc). Trying to weed out the outliers just makes the experience worse for everyone.
Also I would be remiss if I don't highlight the upsides from social media, even for kids and adolescents: It's arguably the only safe haven for minorities. Imagine you're the only LGBTQ+ student in your school (probably not, but when nobody speaks up it's as good as none). Teachers won't tell, parents won't tell, then all you have left is the internet, on which there are plethora of such communities. Blocking access to such knowledge, the community and make them "spend more time listening to teachers" is exactly the recipe for mental illness/self harm, especially considering current trends.