Just WOW! I SO AGREE with his opening line in the article “As a lover of technology, it pains me to see what technological advancements are doing to our youth.”
As a parent of twin 18 year olds, this hits too close to home!
Would love your thoughts!
Today’s Teens — Physically Safer but Psychologically Vulnerable
According to Twenge, the social impact of smartphones and tablets “has not been fully appreciated, and goes far beyond the usual concerns about curtailed attention spans.” Perhaps most importantly, smartphones have changed the way teens interact socially, and this has significant ramifications for their psychological health.
Teens today are far less likely to want to get a driver’s license than previous generations, and a majority of their social life is carried out in the solitude of their bedroom, via their smartphones. As of 2015, 12th-graders spent less time “hanging out” and socializing with friends than eighth-graders did in 2009.
While this makes them physically safer than any previous generation, this kind of isolation does not bode well for mental health and the building of social skills required for work and personal relationships.
In fact, today’s teens are also far less prone to date than previous generations. In 2015, 56 percent of high school seniors dated, nearly 30 percent less than boomers and Gen Xers. Not surprisingly, sexual activity has also declined — down by about 40 percent since 1991, resulting in a 67 percent drop in teen pregnancy rates. Avoiding the drama and heartbreak of those early love experiences has not had a positive effect on emotional health, however.
STORY AT-A-GLANCE
- Kids spend an inordinate amount of time on their smartphones, communicating with friends (and possibly strangers) via text, Twitter and Facebook, and work to keep up their Snapstreaks on Snapchat
- Abrupt changes in teen behavior and psychological health emerged around 2012. Post-millennials spend more time alone, engaged in online socialization rather than face-to-face; they drive less, date less, have less sex and have poorer social and work skills than previous generations
- Rates of teen depression and suicide have dramatically risen since 2011, and data suggest spending three hours or more each day on electronic devices raises a teen’s suicide risk by 35 percent
- Between 2007 and 2015, the suicide rate for 12- to 14-year-old girls rose threefold; the suicide rate among boys doubled in that same time frame
- Data reveal the more time teens spend online, the unhappier they are. Those who spend more time than average on activities that do not involve their smartphone are far more likely to report being “happy”
From Mercola
