Haidt, Jonathan "End The Phone-Based Childhood Now," The Atlantic by Alex Ocampo

Central Claim:

eao118 — 2024-10-07 14:38:40 UTC

The developing social media and access to it is endangering newer generations.

The Decline of Play and Independence

eao118 — 2024-10-07 15:11:04 UTC

There is a decline in normal play and independence in childhood relating to the increasing internet use.

Evidence extended

eao118 — 2024-10-07 15:28:00 UTC

"Japanese children who spent a few years in california in the 1970s began to feel American in their identity only between the ages of 9-15. There was no impact if they left before the age of 9." The evidence explains how the development between these ages is what shapes a person,: the importance of finding your identity within a young age is important here as it is explained that tech companies are pushing their easier access to target children.

Evidence

eao118 — 2024-10-10 05:39:31 UTC

"eventually, tech companies got access to children 24/7. They developed virtual activities, engineered for engagement, that are nothing like the real world" (Haidt 14). By including that these tech companies are evolving to target children it proves the idea that independence in children is not the same anymore like it used to be. The age where kids are allowed to be unsupervised outdoors gets bigger and bigger.

Evidence

eao118 — 2024-10-10 05:49:08 UTC

Haidt explains how when the internet was first popularized it was a positive and important tool that revolutionized our daily lives. The text explains how the slow internet had no negative effects on the generation that grew up with it because it was still new and slow. As internet and smartphones came out it made it easier and faster for teens to access the internet. Haidt demonstrates this by reporting that "by 2015 the number of teens that had a smartphone rose to 73% from 23% in 2011" (Haidt 17).

The Virtual World Arrives in Two Waves

eao118 — 2024-10-10 05:49:19 UTC

The internet has slowly been negatively impacting generations. The internet is described as first sweet then sour and taking a turn for the worse.

The High Cost of a Phone-Based Childhood

eao118 — 2024-10-10 05:53:40 UTC

The negative effects that come with a phone driven childhood include having ridiculous amounts of screentime impacting daily lives.

evidence

eao118 — 2024-10-10 06:08:12 UTC

The fact is that people now are spending large amounts of valuable time on their screens whether that be on social media or other applications. Data from the text proves that American teens spend about 5 hours a day just on social media but up to 7 to 9 including all other applications. It is important to watch the screentime because these hours take up valuable moments in your life like interacting with people. Haidt explains a study where "before 2010, young people 15 -24 reported spending more time with friends, about 2 ours a day. In 2019 time with friends dropped to only 67 minutes a day" (haidt 25).

So Many Harms

eao118 — 2024-10-10 06:09:30 UTC

Internet and social media does more harm than good to teenagers.

Evidence

eao118 — 2024-10-10 06:15:01 UTC

Haidt explains how the internet has become a source of harm for the newer generations by not only creating depression but by also creating awkwardness, less self confidence, disrupting normal growth and development. The attention span that teenagers now have has become worse as younger people "find their attention span chopped up to little bits by notifications offering the possibility of high pleasure"(haidt 32). The text also includes a study stating "when students have access to their phones during class they use them to text and check social media making their grades and learning suffer" (haidt 32). The act that grades have to suffer because of smart phones demonstrates the need for change.

Summary

eao118 — 2024-10-11 06:29:32 UTC

Jonathan Haidt’s unique structure throughout the article “End The Phone-Based Childhood Now” helps strengthen his argument that the developing social media and technical advancements are endangering newer generations and will continue to unless something is done about it. In this article Haidt develops his argument of the dangers of the internet by listing the different negative results then going deeper and evaluating each one on how important they are. A few claims he makes in the article include the internet slowly negatively impacting generations, the internet doing more harm than good, childhood being impacted by screen time, and a decline in normal play and independence. Haidt’s first claim follows his overall argument as he explains that the internet comes in waves impacting generations differently. The first generations that got their hands on technology used it for the better while not affecting their daily lives negatively, now, according to Haidt, technology continues to negatively impact newer generations as the number of teens with smartphones increases. The internet also according to the article seems to do more harm than good to society as children have now increased dependence on technology. Increased numbers of depression, worse attention span, and impact on learning in classroom environments are all examples of how technology has changed for the worse. Screen time is another worry that Haidt has for younger generations as it seems that the amount of time teenagers spend on their phones has now significantly increased, taking up valuable time that could be put to creating valuable moments in life. Similar effects from screen time also relate to the decline in normal play and independence in childhood. This article explains the dangers of children being targets for engaging with virtual activities and explains how the most crucial age where children and teens are finding their identity is between the ages of 9-15. The ages of 9-15 are important because anything that happens between these ages will shape development, Haidt argues that because of this it is best to not provide smartphones and social media until after 15 years of age. Through all these claims, Haidt is able to strengthen the idea that technology and social media are harmful to teens and younger generations.

Reflection

eao118 — 2024-10-17 03:21:04 UTC

This project provided me a stepping stone for what is to come for the next argumentative essay as I was able to pull out an argument with different sub claims that I will continue to do for other projects. I started this map by first reading the article in chunks, not at the same time, and taking notes of what I believed was most important for the argument, which is how developing social media and access to it is endangering newer generations . I was able to use the notes I took as evidence for the sub claims I found. The process I took to find the sub claims was by first reading the sub headings as they provided an overview of what each section would be about. Then, I skimmed through the first few sentences to find if the section was worth looking through. Once I found a good section I took out some evidence which I did by looking back at my notes. Re-reading the instructions for the assignment helped me stay on track to what I needed to include, I will continue to incorporate this into my next assignments by re-reading the requirements. Haidt’s writing technique was strong for his argument throughout the article as he incorporated a unique structure where he laid out many claims that supported his idea. By taking the time to individually tackle each claim he had a better chance to help the reader understand where he is coming from. By the end of the article Haidt does a great job of laying out all of his information through supporting details and evidence from different studies. A strategy I took away from this article and Haidt’s style was to lay out claims and strengthen them throughout my own writing with valid evidence.

Key Terms

eao118 — 2024-10-17 03:29:38 UTC

Mental Health- How a person feels based on their emotions and stress: relates to the article as many teens have an increase of depression because of social media
Social Media- Online platforms where one can talk with other people: social media has become harmful as it damages younger kids' development
Development- how a person grows: development has been negatively impacted through social media as the most important years for development 9-15 are being spent with access to the internet
Depression- act of feeling sad that impacts a person's daily life
Anxiety- feeling of worriedness of what can happen or go wrong