Generation Anxiety: smartphones have created a gen Z mental health crisis – but there are ways to fix it

From the article:

How do we escape from these traps? Collective action problems require collective responses: parents can support one another by sticking together. There are four main types of collective response, and each can help us to bring about major change:

1. No smartphones before year 10
Parents should delay children’s entry into round-the-clock internet access by giving only basic phones with limited apps and no internet browser before the age of 14.

2. No social media before 16
Let children get through the most vulnerable period of brain development before connecting them to an avalanche of social comparison and algorithmically chosen influencers.

3. Phone-free schools
Schools must insist that students store their phones, smartwatches, and any other devices in phone lockers during the school day, as per the new non-statutory guidance issued by the UK government. That is the only way to free up their attention for one another and for their teachers.

4. Far more unsupervised play and childhood independence
That’s the way children naturally develop social skills, overcome anxiety, and become self-governing young adults.

Re No. 4 - I've been saddened to see how different the lives of children are now to when I was young, although my life was far from perfect.

I did however have a lot of independence, so much that perhaps it was neglect.

I went out to play from a young age and stayed out all day (I had one friend when I was under 12 and a lot of time was spent at his house in his garden) but when I was 12 we moved to a council estate and I used to just stay out all day with whoever I knew (a gang I seem to remember) and we would play on old bomb sites and building sites.

It's not ideal but it is incredibly different.

At school we played actual games like hopscotch, skipping and ball games.

A lot of rhymes were sung - I am trying to find a video of these - if I do I will post it here.

I thinking the 'self-governing' part of this is very true.

I grew up to be a pretty independent thinker.

here here for all these, #4, especially. I was way under supervised too. I had to rely on myself as well. for me it was endless exploring on foot as far as I could go. I loved being in the woods among the little creatures and the trees, especially. 

Its wonderful that you could mix in with other kids, living in council housing among so many others.

Your gang was your social media.

I remember those games and songs too. I wonder if any of you younger people here have something equivalent, like call and response zoom games or other group games you play online?

"If you go out in the woods today..."

"Red Rover, Red Rover, let me come over..."  Before it morphed into a melee.

"clothes Horse"

here here for all these, #4, especially. I was way under supervised too. I had to rely on myself as well. for me it was endless exploring on foot as far as I could go. I loved being in the woods among the little creatures and the trees, especially. 

Its wonderful that you could mix in with other kids, living in council housing among so many others.

Your gang was your social media.

I remember those games and songs too. I wonder if any of you younger people here have something equivalent, like call and response zoom games or other group games you play online?

"If you go out in the woods today..."

"Red Rover, Red Rover, let me come over..."  Before it morphed into a melee.

"clothes Horse"