An epidemic of teenage loneliness: Jonathan Haidt and Jean M. Twenge on the mental health impact of smartphones on Gen Z

There’s been a shift in how teenagers hang out, and you can hear it: the chatter that used to buzz through a high school cafeteria has often morphed into silent scrolling on smartphone screens, punctuated by tiny pings as teens message each other through their social media apps. The isolation many teenagers have experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic has made social media even more critical to how they sustain their relationships with each other. Yet there are questions about the long-term health consequences of social media and smartphones on teenagers. In this July 31, 2021 essay, Jonathan Haidt and Jean M. Twenge explain their research about the connection among smartphones, social media, and the mental health of teenagers, both in the US and across the globe.

Jonathan Haidt and Jean M. Twenge, "This Is Our Chance to Pull Teenagers Out of the Smartphone Trap," The New York Times, 31 July 2021.

 

1. Haidt and Twenge include a graph in their essay as one piece of evidence to support their argument that smartphones and social media lead to mental health issues among teenagers. Look at this graph. What information does it give? Where did this information come from? What conclusions can you draw from this graph? Why do you think Haidt and Twenge chose to include this graph in their essay instead of summarizing the information in a paragraph?
   
2. In their essay, Haidt and Twenge introduce and respond to naysayer arguments. Locate one place where they do this and explain the naysayer argument. What strategies from Chapter 6 do you see Haidt and Twenge using to introduce the naysayer argument fairly and accurately, offer concessions, and respond to the counterargument? How would you describe the tone they use when integrating and responding to naysayer arguments in their essay?
3. Haidt and Twenge suggest that girls are particularly vulnerable to the negative mental health consequences of social media use. What evidence do they give to support this claim? Do you agree, disagree, or both with this claim? Why? Respond to this claim using a template from Chapter 4. You might consider how other aspects of a teenager’s identity, such as race, sexuality, or disability, could influence how they use social media and smartphones.
4. Haidt and Twenge contend that the consequences of social media and smartphones go beyond their effects on individual teenagers, arguing that “the smartphone brought about a planetary rewiring of human interaction.” According to Haidt and Twenge, how have social media and smartphones affected the relationships teenagers have with each other and with their families? What are the two solutions Haidt and Twenge suggest for reducing the extent to which teenagers rely on social media and smartphones? Who do you think should be intervening to prevent the mental health issues teenagers face from smartphones and social media? Why?

Comments

[Angela Finch]

Haidt and Twenge contend that the consequese of social media and smartphones go beyond their effects on individual teenagers arguing that the smartphone brought about a planetary retiring of human interaction.
I agree that smartphones have an effect on how teenagers interact because us being humans are meant to have person on person interaction this is wa way we thrive. However our smartphones as well can help us keep in touch and up with those that are hard to have in person relationships with. With this being said Haidt and Twenges idea of reducing the extent of reliance of theses devices can help avoid long term mental health consequences that come from depriving ourselves from human interaction.

[Angela finch]

I agree wtith Haidt and Twenges’s theory that girls are particularly vulnerable to the negative mental health consequences of social media use because an extensive review of the published research on social media and mental health revealed that teens who consume a lot of social media hub words helped out comes then individual teens who consume little particularly for girls the reasoning behind this is because smart phones and social media doesn’t affect just individuals but groups this reasoning strongly opinionated by the theory of girls and young women feeling more pressure to compare and despair caused by scrolling through posts from all people of all nationalities posting their perfection pictures that have been altered to look more of tea perfect illusion than realistic reality.

[Vyctur Lamb]

I agree With Haidt and Twenges veiw on the theory as far as teenage interaction.Because of the pendemic alot of teenagers have turned to socail media.That can be very harmful for long periods of time because they have nothing real to compaire it to.Friendship has changed forever because of the internet.They no loner see there friends in real life.One way to help with the teenage mindlessness that comes with the internet is to invent a app where parents can control what the teenagers see.I only say that because parents are legal gaurdains untill they are 18.With this being said Haidt and Twenges idea of reducing the extent of reliance of theses devices can help avoid long term mental health problems.

[Mark]

I’m of two minds about Haidt and Twenge’s claim that smartphone usage has caused an epidemic of teenage loneliness. On the one hand, I agree that social media usage can contribute to lowered self-esteem through means of comparison with others, on the other hand, I’m not sure if it has contributed to an outbreak of teenagers feeling lonely. I can see how when a person compares their selves to an infinite amount of people on Instagram, their mental health can plummet, since people constantly edit their photos, post nothing but highlights of their lives, and hide the lowlights. Instagram is not real life. Regarding women especially, is it clear how their self-confidence may decline after comparing their selves to an unending number of images of women that are altered, edited, and distorted in certain ways that do not reflect reality.
I disagree with Haidt and Twenge’s claim that the usage of smartphones contributes to overall teenage loneliness because I don’t believe in the validity of the survey methods used and their methodology of associating it with smartphone usage. They themselves even mentioned that their analyses can not prove that increased social media usage directly correlates with the rise of teenage loneliness. They are just observing trends of questionable, self-reported surveys that conclude there is a “rise” in teenage loneliness and are attributing it to the increase in smartphone and cellphone usage in the past years. In addition, I have lived and went to school throughout the “smartphone era” and have never been in a classroom or space in a school that wasn’t completely occupied with chatter and teens just having fun. Most students that I encountered in my high school days were sociable, made friends easily, and were sometimes more engaged in conversation than anything else. Students would talk before, during, and after class.
Furthermore, the answers they provide to their supposed problem are unrealistic. They want to disallow phones in schools. In some schools, phones are used with learning, through methods like Kahoot, check-in apps, and more. Phones have become a part of our lives whether one likes it or not. Not allowing them in schools would become an infringement of rights, would be very hard to enforce, and would bring up questions of whether it is reasonable at all. Age mandates for social media platforms would be impossible to enforce as well, as many would just lie about their age, and many teens between 13-16 may not even have a form of identification. We must accept that smartphones and social media have become a part of our lives, and will continue to be, we must make the right decisions regarding what we follow, what we see, and what we allow to enter our minds as we scroll through these social media pages.

[Alexces Garmendia]

I completely agree with Haidt and Twenges view on how the teenage interaction has changed. I feel like the is true because the pandemic has change the way they communicate and the channels they use. They consider the friend they have on the internet as someone they can trust or they feel like they have a real connection because they see what they post. This takes a real heavy mental health issue on teens and it can effect them in the long run.

[Eyerusalem]

yes I agree with Haidt and Twenges on how the pandemic affects the teenagers their learning style and the time they spent on screens which is true that affects their health and their social status out side the internet.

[Zachary Mayeux]

Hyde And Twenge say that Phones Are A Good Way to get to and from school but they should be locked up during the school Day in order to practice the Ways of communicating with others because when you are on your smartphone you are isolating yourself from others. But phones are also a good thong to do after a long day to look at social media as a reward for doing your work or having a great day and getting the stuff done on your to-do list for the day
in Conclusion Phones Are good And bad Phones are good for transport as a safety device and to get to ( )but phones can also be bad because they can be addicting if you let it control you so you should have a little bit of time at the end of the day but just enough so you get time but not get attached to it

[Yongheng]

I agree with Haidt and Twenges. Because of the pandemic, teenagers were separated from their friends. They need to share their lives and feelings so they may form the habit of relying on the Internet. After the pandemic they may still prefer to talk online, but offline activities are the same important.

[Hannah Richard]

Haidt and Twenges state their naysayers by identifying a generalized group of people: "some experts." The naysayers' argument is that claim that social media is harming teens is just another moral panic. After all, people thought the same thing about the arrival of video games, TV, and even...wait for it... comic books! And if the smartphone has been introduced in many different countries, why wouldn't there also be the same issue in these areas? Why hasn't there been data gathered on the affects of social media on teens in these other countries? The overall tone used to introduce these naysayers is fair and straightforward. There are no hinted signs of mockery or disapproval from the authors on this opposing point of view.

[哈哈]

The teacher asked us to comment, so I can only say that I agree with with Haidt and Twenges.

[哈哈]

复制重了。。多了个with

[:(]

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[Handsome Boy]

I agree with them that the Internet can not only help people in special times, but also a very efficient productivity tool. However, nowadays, people's negative evaluation of the Internet is more than positive, which is what people need to pay attention to. People can't ignore the benefits of the Internet.

[qwerty]

I agree with Haidt and Twenges about how teens' social method has changed but I disagree how this would harm the teen's mental health. Take myself as an example, during the pandemic, most of my social interaction is online. I will be more lonely if I can't use internet to connect with my friends. And to be honest, real friends won't abandon you if you want to talk to them offline. Either way is fine.

[Lan]

I agree with the idea that the COVIC-19 has impact the mental health of the Gen Z. Take me as the example, I was in the U.S. for the high school study before the pandemic. However, I was forced to back to China for the safety concern. In the main case, I do not have any friends in China, and my classmates are separated in different city. I was both lonely and under the stress of senior year.

[Handsome grandfather]

I agree with Handsome Boy's opinion.

[Thya]

Jonathan Haidt and Jean M. Twenge pointed out that the smartphone can interrupt people from the face to face conversation and I totally agree. By look back to my high school life, we created a lot of activities together and it provided a great relationship, somehow, with smartphone or social media not able to create those kind of friendship since we not even know what exactly true with that person. In sum, we may have a bunch of people in there, but still feel lonely in the real life.

[Joshua C Kotula]

I agree with the author, phone use can distort the use of face to face conversation but it also helps kids who are not as good with face to face conversations socialize, also understanding that covid 19 may and does actually play a role into socialization issues after pretty much being isolated from society for half a year and more. I havent really looked at phone us this way, but it was an eye opener.

[Joshua C Kotula]

I agree with the author, phone use can distort the use of face to face conversation but it also helps kids who are not as good with face to face conversations socialize, also understanding that covid 19 may and does actually play a role into socialization issues after pretty much being isolated from society for half a year and more. I havent really looked at phone us this way, but it was an eye opener.

[Javier Leyva]

Smartphones have changed the world. A quick glance around any street or communal space shows how dominant our favourite digital devices have become.

We are familiar with the sight of groups of teenagers not talking, but eagerly composing messages and posts on their screens. Or seeing couples dining silently in restaurants, ignoring the romantic flickering candle in favour of the comforting blue light of their phones.

Attempts have been made to come up with rules of phone etiquette during face-to-face interactions. But why do these devices that are meant to connect us when we’re far apart seem to cause so much division when we’re close together

[K C]

The authors of this article claim that girls are particularly vulnerable to these mental health conditions, like depression, suicide, loneliness, and self-harm, as a result of social media. They support this claim by stating that females “compare and despair” by scrolling through pictures that have been heavily edited. Many images online are of girls with very small bodies, and specific facial features that have been glamourized by society. Upon seeing these images, there is a strong pressure felt to reach these standards. Girls feel less valuable and important if they do not look like the girls they see online. With this, poor self-esteem and body image develops. Girls will alter their diets and daily routines in ways that are dangerous, in attempt to look a certain way. The rates in which girls experience eating disorders are unfortunately on the rise. This is a direct product of social media, as claimed by the authors. I agree with this strongly. Many girls I know personally have developed a negative sense of self, due to social media and the images portrayed. There is great pressure and tension for females to appear a specific way, this image is false and extreme. The rates for the incline of social media and negative mental health are parallel. It is quite evident that the two are unfortunately coordinated.

[Nick R]

I do agree with the authors about how the younger generation communicates. During quarantine, the only way to communicate with people outside your house is with your phone. Causing teenagers to get addicted to their devices. Social media is making false expectations that teenagers feel they have been and altering how they live their lives. For example, KC brought up about females altering their diets to try to achieve what they see on social media. These actions are physically harmful to them, and it is wrong for them to feel they have to change what they look like based on what they see on social media.
Teenagers want to spend more time on their phones rather than with their own families. The effect of this is not suitable for having good relationships with their parents.

[Blake Bahna]

The article that I have chosen shows the impact that smartphones have on the mental health of teenagers, and it shows the shift that smartphones and social media have created in social settings. Smartphones have had unexpected effects on teenagers worldwide, "by 2019, just before the pandemic, rates of depression among adolescents had nearly doubled." It is impossible to root the cause of this to smartphone use directly, but everyone has felt the effects, whether you know it or not. Due to students being consumed by social media and their smartphones, it has become harder to strike up a conversation with a peer you have not yet met, leading to loneliness and anxiety in students. Also, with the addition of the like button that has found its way to almost every social media platform, teenagers feel the need to get likes to feel validation. This leads to young women, in particular, comparing themselves to photos of women edited to perfection. Before social media became such a craze, making new friends was not so complex or challenging. There also was not such a desire for insignificant validation from others.

[Jeff]

My name if jeff

[Alvia]

According to Haidt and Jean’s research, this article explains how smartphones can affect teenagers' mental health. It argues that smartphones have changed interaction with individuals. I agree with Haidt and Jean's claim that smartphones can interrupt face- to-face conversation with individuals. People tend to be busy on their smartphone rather than talking in-person with those around them. During Covid-19, smartphones were needed to stay in touch with your families and friends. They served an important role in remote working and distance learning as well. They helped everyone connect with their loved ones regardless of the distance through facetime, text messages and social media. I believe smartphones not only have a negative impact but can also serve a positive purpose in an individual’s life. It depends on how a smartphone is used. The purpose you use the smartphone device for determines its negative or positive affect. As a teenager myself, I believe smartphones are a part of our daily life. If we don't have phones, it feels incomplete. It makes our lives much easier and through smartphones we are able to entertain ourselves with social media. However, an important factor to using an electronic device should be time management. Smartphones should be a helpful element in your life rather than becoming an addiction. You should be able to limit your screen time as well as give time to your priorities before anything else.. It wouldn’t hurt your soul to be away from your phone and focusing on your social life.