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 |
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| 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 |
| 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. |
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| ISSN: | 0148-432X |
