A recent Pew survey confirmed what most educators and parents already know: Teens are addicted to their cellphones. Nearly 50% of them are online “almost constantly,” spending roughly five hours a day on their devices, including the hours when they are glued to social media. The impact of these devices on students’ academic performance and attention spans has grabbed headlines, but so have concerns about the impact on mental health. Jonathan Haidt detailed the dangers of social media on the mental health of young people in his 2024 New York Times bestseller The Anxious Generation.
Today, nearly 40 states and the District of Columbia require school districts to restrict student cellphone use. And even as educators (and families) maintain grave concerns about the impact of students’ cellphone use, they must now square this circle: In the age of technology, educators and families are asking: What role should technology (for example, smartphones) play in childhood and education?
In this episode of Seat at the Table, Jonathan Haidt and New York Times bestselling author Catherine Price (How to Break Up With Your Phone and The Power of Fun), co-authors of the recently published The Amazing Generation, will be joined by Spokane, Wash., superintendent Adam Swinyard in a solution-oriented conversation with Peter DeWitt about the role that schools can play in getting students back to the basics of childhood.
