We’re convinced that history will judge the advent of the smartphone era as one of extreme negligence when it comes to child welfare in this country.
Think of smartphones as the most widespread and irresponsible experiment on developing brains ever devised.
A new public service announcement from the advocacy group Smartphone Free Childhood United States drives the point home.
A father comes to the door of his young son’s bedroom to say goodnight.
“Remember,” the father says, “there’s a box in the corner with all the pornographic material that’s ever been made in the world, even the really weird stuff that could scar you for life. I’m trusting you not to look in there, OK?”
He asks his son to ignore a “random guy” in the corner spewing hateful rhetoric; the mean girls from school at the foot of his bed “talking about you all night,” and a Russian hacker who keeps asking for a password.
A voiceover concludes, “We ask too much of our kids when we give them a smartphone. Let’s change the norm.”
The norm is changing thanks to wide-ranging efforts to limit phone use in schools. A Pew Research Center study in July found roughly two-thirds of Americans think phone-free schools would improve students’ social skills, grades and behavior in class.
Our local school districts are ahead of the curve on this issue. Boards have passed policies regulating the use of phones during school hours, but it’s merely a first step. More needs to be done to limit access to phones when kids aren’t in school.
It’s time for Congress to think about treating smartphones like cigarettes. Forget the arguments on government overreach and infringement on personal property rights. We need to reach consensus that smartphones have no place in the American childhood experience. They cause too much damage.
Social psychologist Jonathan Haidt addresses this in his book, “The Anxious Generation.”
To reverse the “phone-based childhood” and create a healthier one, Haidt suggests: no smartphones before high school, no social media before age 16, phone-free schools, and more independence, free play, and responsibility for children in the real world. These norms are meant to be adopted collectively by parents, educators and communities to combat the rise of anxiety and mental health issues in young people.
Short of keeping phones out of children’s hands, “age-gating” short-form video platforms like TikTok would be one of the best we could do, Haidt posted recently, referencing a reversion of “the Flynn Effect.”
The Flynn Effect “is the scientifically documented increase in average IQ test scores over generations. IQ has been rising at about 3 points per decade, with global lifestyle improvements such as clean air and water being noted contributors,” Haidt said.
“However, we are now seeing a reversion of the Flynn Effect, with general IQ declining,” he said, pointing to hours of screen time among teens and preteens as degrading their ability to focus on a task. Haidt says the link to attention has been scientifically proven.
“My fear is that an entire generation (or two, if we don’t stop this) is doomed to lower intellectual achievement, lower life satisfaction, and lower overall happiness — despite, and often because of, vast technological advances.”
This is “Idiocracy” in action. Congress should do the research and conclude that limiting smart phone use among children is the national interest. Whether it’s a ban on the sale of smartphones to children or a Surgeon General’s warning, lawmakers need to find a way to help parents understand that giving children access to smartphones is unhealthy and dangerous.
