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In the article, "End The Phone-Based Childhood Now," Jonathan Haidt's main argument is that smartphones, and social media in particular, have been detrimental to the development of the younger generation. This new phone-based childhood has shown evidence of declining mental health, reduced social skills, a decline in independence, and lower academic performance.

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There Has Been a Decline in Mental Health of Adolescents Since 2010. 

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There Has Been a Decline in Mental Health of Adolescents Since 2010. 

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There Has Been a Decline in Social and Real-World Skills

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There Has Been a Decline in Social and Real-World Skills

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There Has Been Evidence of Reduced Academic Performance Amongst The Generation

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There Has Been Evidence of Reduced Academic Performance Amongst The Generation

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In the article, Haidt brings up that depression and anxiety rates among the younger generation were consistent in the early 2000s and prior, but once the age of the smartphone and social media came about, specifically since 2010, these rates went up by over 50%.

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Another aspect of mental health Haidt touches up on is the increased suicide rates. He again mentions that these rates were fairly stable in the 2000s, but after smartphones and social media became prominent in our culture, these rates spiked. With teenagers, this rate went up approximately 48%, and with girls ages 10-14, it went up 131%. These increased rates can be correlated to feelings of inadequacy that comes as a product of social media.

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Haidt argues that the increased screen times leads to the youth being exposed to negative aspects of social media for a longer amount of time. This causes them to make social comparisons to those who they see online, and which could damage their self esteem. This is because online platforms often encourage unrealistic expectations and further feelings of inadequacy stems from this, leading to the symptoms highlighted earlier.

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Some people may argue that these symptoms like depression and anxiety could be influenced by other factors, however, the other factors that they mention could contribute do not correlate as closely with a decline in mental health as the upbringing of the smartphone generation. According to global trends, there is evidence to back up that smartphones and social media have had the largest contribution to a decline in mental health.

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Haidt argues that because children have access to smartphones and digital communication, they are spending less time interacting face-to-face. He argues this shift stops people from having deep, meaningful connections. On top of that they lose the ability to interpret body language and understanding social cues. All of these are factors that are important for developing properly socially and to have proper social skills in the future.

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The author of the article further argues that increased screen time makes adolescents focus on menial aspects of life like likes on their post, or how many followers he or she has. Social media creates this unnecessary pressure to present a fake version of oneself online, a version that one feels is better. Haidt says that this pressure makes one prioritize superficial things instead of focusing on the important things in life.

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Because children are acquiring phones and getting on social media at an earlier age, they have less time from the moment they are born to develop socially. This is because the more time spent on the phones, the less time adolescents have to interact with each other in person. They are also less motivated to do so because they feel they can just interact online.

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Some people may argue that social media can help maintain friendships over a long distance, and people can interact whenever they want from wherever they want. However, Haidt argues these interactions lack depth and sincerity. He argues that in-person interactions emphasize a tighter bond and allow a level of communication that online communication lacks. Online communication leaves people feeling isolated he says.

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Smartphones act as a distraction in the classroom. Haidt used the term attention fragmentation because the younger generation's attention is "fragmented," meaning they will not focus on one thing, they will constantly be multitasking as they are consumed with their phones, leading to not as effective learning. This also leads to poor study habits and makes it harder for them to concentrate on learning.

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Since the digital age of smartphones has become prominent in Generation Z, there has been reduced engagement with academic tasks. These tasks include reading, writing, and more. This is because students receive constant dopamine from being on social media, which in turn lowers their attention span and motivation to voluntarily do academic tasks.

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Attention Fragmentation - This is basically the idea that with smartphones we are constantly multitasking and it takes away from our ability to focus on things like schoolwork.

Cultural Rewiring - The idea that smartphones and social media have changed childhoods.

Academic decline - decline in academic performance beginning in the 2010s, which correlates with smartphone use and decreased attention span.

Techno-Optimism - Belief that technology and social media would enhance democracy and education.

Algorithmic content - This is the idea that the content that platforms show is set to appeal to each individual person.

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The main reason behind the lack of academic excellence amongst the newer generation is due to the fact that they are constantly faced with the distraction of their phones. Before the smartphone generation, the previous generation did not have such a distraction available to them at all times. This allowed them to focus constantly on schoolwork and become educated, now students do not have the motivation to pay attention to their task at hand because they are more engaged in their smartphones.

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There are arguments supporting the fact that technology could be beneficial in the classroom because it can offer unlimited information. This may be the case, however, this technology is also distracting because one also has unlimited distractions when using it. Haidt argues that the distractions technology causes undermine its potential benefits.

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Haidt mentions several negative effects of having a generation that grows up in a smartphone-based era, these effects include:

Less economic productivity.

Weaker workforce chemistry and communication.

Further decline in societal mental health.

An even further decline in independence.

Although there are more potential downsides, these are some of the main implications of having a society that grows up with a phone-based childhood.

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Although the current younger generation is already growing up with a phone-based childhood, Haidt proposed a few solutions to the issue at hand. These solutions include:

Not allowing adolescents to get smartphones until much later.

Implementing phone-free schools.

Encouraging outdoor play and other alternatives away from digital entertainment.

Advocating for norm shifts away from digitization.

These solutions won't completely address the issue at hand, however, Haidt believes it is a step in the right direction.

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There is Evidence Supporting the Fact that There Has Been a Decline in Independence Amongst Adolescents Since 2010.

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There is Evidence Supporting the Fact that There Has Been a Decline in Independence Amongst Adolescents Since 2010.

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Haidt argues that there has been a decline in outdoor physical play and activity, which was replaced by screen time. He noted that children prefer to stay indoors now and play on their devices instead of going outside. This is detrimental to their social and physical development. Outdoor play he says is one of the main contributing factors to developing proper motor skills, which if they are not able to develop, in the future, they will struggle with social resilience and competence.

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Another piece of evidence Haidt brings up is that the limited outdoor play children get contributes to them being more risk-averse in the future. Since they are not going to be taking physical risks and exploring the world, because they are on their devices, they are not going to be able to develop courage and the ability to overcome fear. This will inevitably make them grow up without having challenged themselves in tough situations, which is necessary for proper development.

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Although a big factor to why there has been a decline in independence is because children have been playing outside less, the reason for this stems from their parents. Haidt argues that parents actually prefer their children to stay in and on their devices as opposed to going outside, because it keeps them safer. Parents tend to believe that children are more likely to be harmed when playing outside instead of inside and on their devices.

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Haidt highlights that although digital engagement could be a way to keep children safer as opposed to going outside and being independent, they are being harmed in the long run when talking about personal development. Being deprived of the opportunity to develop independence only harms the children for their future, and therefore they should strive to play outside and be independent in their childhood.