Kids Should Have a Driver's License Before a Smartphone

Have smartphones destroyed a generation? That was the title of a viral essay by Dr. Jean Twenge in The Atlantic in 2017, which first catapulted her work into the spotlight. For years before The Anxious Generation, Dr. Twenge (who now collaborates with Jonathan Haidt) was raising the alarm about social media use and teen mental health. Now, Dr. Twenge has released clear guidelines for parents on how to manage the technology in their kids’ lives. In this episode, we interrogate the evidence linking anxiety and depression to social media use and hear about the non-negotiable solutions Dr. Twenge lays out in her new book, 10 Rules for Raising Kids in a High-Tech World. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices