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Smartphone, welcome to politics. With anxiety, depression, and other mental health issues on the rise, especially among our youth, many U.S. policymakers are (rightly) blaming the addiction to iPhones and other devices.
Jonathan Haidt's recent book, The Anxious Generation, unpacks the childhood mental health crisis and reaches the conclusion that parents must limit their kids' smartphone usage. Inspired by Haidt's research, Representative Jake Auchincloss (D-Mass.) has introduced a bill that would raise the age for social media use from 13 to 16 years old, while New York is moving to restrict certain social media algorithms like automated feeds and late-night notifications. Then there is Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, who argued that social media should come with a warning label.
And that's just the U.S. response. Over in France, President Emmanuel Macron has proposed a smartphone ban for children under 11 and a social media ban for those under 15.
However, Haidt and his supporters have recently run into criticism, and not just from technology companies with an incentive to maintain the status quo. The libertarian magazine Reason criticized the push for increased regulation of social media, while certain academics and scientists don't buy the causal relationship between technological domination and worsening mental health outcomes.
So, what's the truth? If there is proof in the pudding, it is U.S. public opinion—what Americans actually believe about devices like smartphones. And, if the people are to be believed, the smartphone snag is much, much worse than we may have thought.
It is not breaking news that parents are concerned about their kids being hooked on Instagram pictures and YouTube videos. According to a recent survey from The Harris Poll, 84 percent of U.S. adults worry about the effect of social media on the mental health of today's young people. Nearly nine in 10 (88 percent) of parents think young people are too dependent on technology, while more than two-thirds (68 percent) believe that smartphones should not be allowed in school.
But this is not just some Boomer "hot take," and that is newsworthy. Even young Americans are concerned about technology's adverse effects, expressing skepticism that they can restrain themselves from the modern-day impulses to click, scroll, and swipe. Over three-quarters (76 percent) of young adults claim their generations are too dependent on technology. America's younger generations are now more likely to self-report a negative technological impact on mental health, with 60 percent of young adults wishing they spent less time using devices.
Even the notion of cutting back can be anxiety-inducing. Despite recognition of technology's many pitfalls, over half of young adults are worried about growing addicted to their smartphone, with the average American spending nearly five hours a day on their phone (for Gen Zers, it's over six hours). This is compounded by the fact that technology is now often perceived as integral to communication, with nearly three-quarters (72 percent) of U.S. adults under 30 agreeing that technology has changed how people socialize. To quote Haidt, society has been "rewired," with 21st-century childhoods looking entirely different from those in the 1990s.
In terms of next steps, it's clear that we are all—and not just Gen Zers—spending too much time on our smartphones, losing out on many of life's non-virtual joys. It can't be overstated—Get off your phone (me included).
Fortunately, there are now various policy proposals on the table—federal, state, and local—and many are common-sense. Haidt's guidance for children to look for new opportunities to embed themselves in stable real-world communities, rather than online networks, is difficult to debunk. Real-life connection is proven to be more "binding" and "satisfying."
Working through golf swing faults on the driving range is more fulfilling than just playing EA Sports PGA Tour. Talking to good friends by a campfire is more rewarding than scrolling through Twitter/X for three hours in a row. Picking up a new hobby—whether it's jiu-jitsu, arts and crafts, or just reading more books—is always a worthwhile endeavor. Speaking as a parent (and, yes, a former child), these are indisputable facts.
What's also increasingly indisputable is that technology can hinder, rather than help, childhood development and even social interactions among adults. It is impossible to write off today's mental health crisis as a mere coincidence, as more research comes out. The polling doesn't lie, and Americans are deeply concerned.
On smartphones, America needs serious action. From individual responsibility and parental oversight to federal legislation, all proposals should remain on the table. Inaction is inexcusable.
Will Johnson is CEO of The Harris Poll, one of the world's leading public opinion, market research, and strategy firms.
The views expressed in this article are the writer's own.
