Setting up guardrails for children in the physical world can be counterproductive, leading to a decrease in resilience, independence, and unsupervised play time. Risky play is necessary for children to learn problem-solving and build confidence and self-efficacy. Dealing with boredom and frustration regularly is also key for becoming an emotionally healthy adult. In light of this, placing a child in a bubble of satisfaction and safety isn’t good for their development. At the same time, we’ve failed to adequately protect children from the risks posed by the constant access to social media, photo filters, and addictive games.
The introduction of the smartphone has fundamentally altered the nature of childhood, depriving children of the critical experiences of free play, attunement, and organic social learning. And this shift has had negative consequences for the mental health of Generation Z, as evidenced by the alarming surge in reported cases of depression, anxiety, and self-harm.
Addressing this crisis requires a deeper understanding of the connection between technology, social dynamics, and child development – which is what we’ll look at next.
From sleep deprivation to attention fragmentation, smartphone use dangerously impacts children’s health
There’s no doubt that the rapid shift from flip phones to smartphones at the end of the 2000s and the start of the 2010s has dramatically transformed the nature of childhood. In this section, we’ll outline the four major ways in which smartphones have adversely impacted the mental well-being of young people.
First up? Social deprivation. As we know, in-person, play-based social interactions are fundamental to a child’s healthy social development. But from 2009 onward, the time children spend interacting with friends face-to-face has dropped markedly. Even when children and teens do spend time together, they increasingly do so with their phones in hand, diminishing the quality of their interactions. This trend extends to family life as well, as parents too have become distracted by their smartphones. In a study of children aged 6–12, 62 percent reported that their parents were “distracted” when they tried to talk with them, with the primary reason being smartphone use.
The second adverse effect of smartphones is sleep deprivation. Biological rhythms shift during adolescence; for generations, parents have struggled to wake their teen or preteen in time for school. Smartphones have exacerbated this issue, as late-night phone use is known to be disruptive to sleep. A review of 36 studies concludes that there’s a clear correlational relationship between smartphone use and sleep deprivation among adolescents. This sleep deprivation is associated with higher levels of depression, anxiety, aggression, and impeded impulse control.
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