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Distracted by Design: Smartphones Harm Children's Mental Health and Learning--But We Can Fight Back

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Title: Distracted by Design: Smartphones Harm Children's Mental Health and Learning--But We Can Fight Back
Language: English
Authors: Jonathan Haidt
Source: American Educator. 2026 50(1):4-7.
Availability: American Federation of Teachers, AFL-CIO. 555 New Jersey Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20001. Tel: 202-879-4420; e-mail: ae@aft.org; Web site: http://www.aft.org/newspubs/periodicals/ae
Peer Reviewed: N
Page Count: 4
Publication Date: 2026
Document Type: Journal Articles
Reports - Descriptive
Descriptors: Telecommunications, Handheld Devices, Mental Health, Mental Disorders, Anxiety Disorders, Depression (Psychology), Interference (Learning), Children, Adolescents, Prevention
ISSN: 0148-432X
Abstract: Children have been drawn powerfully to screens since the advent of television, but they could not take those screens with them to school or when they went outside to play. Before the iPhone, there was a limit to the amount of screen time a child could have, so there was still time for play and face-to-face conversation. But the explosion of smartphone-based apps such as Instagram in the exact years in which Gen Z teens and preteens were moving from basic phones to smartphones marked a qualitative change in the nature of childhood, with an international increase in rates of adolescent anxiety and depression and evidence that phones may be interfering with education. This article discusses four main ways that governments and tech companies could improve the virtual world for adolescents.
Abstractor: ERIC
Entry Date: 2026
Accession Number: EJ1502883
Database: ERIC
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  Data: Distracted by Design: Smartphones Harm Children's Mental Health and Learning--But We Can Fight Back
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  Data: American Federation of Teachers, AFL-CIO. 555 New Jersey Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20001. Tel: 202-879-4420; e-mail: ae@aft.org; Web site: http://www.aft.org/newspubs/periodicals/ae
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  Data: Children have been drawn powerfully to screens since the advent of television, but they could not take those screens with them to school or when they went outside to play. Before the iPhone, there was a limit to the amount of screen time a child could have, so there was still time for play and face-to-face conversation. But the explosion of smartphone-based apps such as Instagram in the exact years in which Gen Z teens and preteens were moving from basic phones to smartphones marked a qualitative change in the nature of childhood, with an international increase in rates of adolescent anxiety and depression and evidence that phones may be interfering with education. This article discusses four main ways that governments and tech companies could improve the virtual world for adolescents.
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