In a review of “The Anxious Generation” by Jonathan Haidt, Wall Street Journal columnist Peggy Noonan wrote, “What we all know is that there’s a mental-health crisis among the young, that they seem to have become addicted to social media and gaming, and that these two facts seem obviously connected. Mr. Haidt says, and shows, that the latter is a cause of the former. … He tells the story of what happened to Generation Z, which he defines as those born after 1995. … This became ‘the first generation in history to go through puberty with a portal in their pockets that called them away from the people nearby and into an alternative universe that was exciting, addictive, unstable and . . . unsuitable for children and adolescents.’”
A plethora of harms has risen – an increase in depression in both girls and boys, a rise in anxiety disorders, among others.
The Parents Television and Media Council (PTC) believes that the youth mental health crisis is certainly caused at least in part because of kids’ connections with phones and screens, and has created a Resource Center for parents and caregivers. The PTC also advocates for increased responsibility on the tech industry to work to prevent online harms to children, and for Congress to hold the industry responsible by passing solutions like the Kids Online Safety Act.
The Parents Television and Media Council® (www.parentstv.org®) is a non-partisan education organization advocating responsible entertainment. Visit the new PTC Watchdog Blog at http://www.parentstv.org/blog/. Follow the PTC on Twitter: @ThePTC
By Kelly Oliver, Parents Television and Media council
