Published on 12, July, 2020
Guardian article:
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2024/mar/24/the-anxious-generation-jonathan-haidt-book-extract-instagram-tiktok-smartphones-social-media-screens?utm_source=pocket-newtab-en-gb
Very interesting, I think.
Obviously with everything there's a mixture of positive and negative but I think overall smartphones have been way more good than bad for me.
I have a device with me basically all the time that has instant access to a huge amount of music, all the information I could need on transport and directions (the idea of being on the other side of the city and the trains are a mess and I have no citymapper to help me get home is frankly terrifying), games to distract me if I'm struggling, the alarms and reminders I need to stay organised. God knows what else.
I'm always a bit unsure what to make of when I see these claims, because I was a teenager with no smartphone who would (I guess) be counted as a relative success because I wasn't treated for anxiety at that age. It didn't mean it wasn't happening, it meant I was totally alone. If I'd had more access to the internet, I probably would have figured out earlier that things were wrong and maybe would've been able to get help. But because I suffered in ignorance and silence until I left school and ended up in hospital, that's one fewer 13 year old who would've shown up on the statistics as dealing with anxiety and depression. Victory.
T said:I have a device with me basically all the time that has instant access to a huge amount of music, all the information I could need on transport and directions (the idea of being on the other side of the city and the trains are a mess and I have no citymapper to help me get home is frankly terrifying), games to distract me if I'm struggling, the alarms and reminders I need to stay organised.
Excellent points and also, as you intimate, the information available for medical (or anything) conditions is superb.
At 14 a friend of mine was institutionalised in our local 'asylum' with anorexia and almost died.
She would have had a lot more resources these days and been less isolated (I realise that there is a converse to this as social media might have exacerbated her condition).
I think that for me that's the major bonus of the internet - information at your fingertips (as long as we can be discerning) ..
we are so fortunate these days!