Jonathan Haidt did the hard work of putting it all in print and graphs. He explained what millions of parents nationwide already knew—what we have known for years, but few have had the bravery to say out loud or put it into practice.
Kids don’t belong online or in the possession of a smartphone.
“The phone-based life produces spiritual degradation, not just in adolescents, but in all of us.”
“There’s a God-shaped hole in every human heart. If it doesn’t get filled with something noble and elevated, modern society will quickly pump it full of garbage.”
In his recent book, “Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness,” Haidt explained that access to screens, especially smartphones, is capturing a generation and decimating the idea of “childhood” as we know it.
It’s not a new conversation. I don’t have to show you his graphs or explain the basis of his argument—you know it. Every parent in America has it. And if they aren’t debating it, they live with the real-life consequences of their child being the odd man out.
If you find yourself making the counter-cultural choice to raise your children without a smartphone, without constant access to devices that contain dangerous and wildly inappropriate content, take heart. I beg you, don’t give in, and don’t become complacent. You’re doing a wonderfully subversive (and completely wonderful) thing for your child.
You’re offering them freedom. You’re offering them a pure childhood. A childhood that every boy and girl deserves, but so few are receiving.
A few months ago, my 13-year-old started going on walks. She would come home and tell me about the neighbors she would meet. We live in a spaced-out area of the country, so we don’t have constant contact with those who live around us, and yet, Frankie would meet the lovely elderly lady whom we wave to as we zip by in our minivan on the way to piano classes. She would stay and chat with her as she swept leaves off her porch, sometimes staying longer than her “curfew” allowed, just because she sensed that her new friend was lonely.
On one of her walks, she saw some children playing outside a house further up the road. She introduced herself to the many boys and girls who were engaging in various outdoor activities—running after the dog, playing tag, and chalk drawing on the cement patch. When she arrived home that afternoon, she said, “I made friends! Lots of them!”
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