Social Media Bans and Smartphones for Kids
Jonathan Haidt, social psychologist and author of The Anxious Generation, on why he thinks we’re at a global turning point.
Social psychologist Jonathan Haidt is at the forefront of the campaign to ban social media for under-16s and end what he calls “phone-based childhoods”.
His book, The Anxious Generation, sparked a global reckoning that has led countries like Australia and Spain to introduce laws restricting access to social media platforms.
He spoke to Amol ahead of a meeting with UK health secretary Wes Streeting about why he thinks we’re at a tipping point, whether technology is making us “stupider” and how parents can reduce their child’s smartphone use by organising local “play-bourhoods”.
A Meta spokesperson said: “We agree with Jonathan Haidt that keeping teens safe online is critical. That’s why we've made meaningful changes - like Teen Accounts - to limit who can contact teens, what they see, and their time on our apps. However, two recent independent, large-scale studies in the UK and Australia, including one from Oxford, show the complexity of teen mental health and that many factors beyond social media influence it. Any serious conversation should reflect all the evidence and social media's positive role for teens: friendship, skill-building and finding community."
Snapchat and TikTok were approached for comment.
Radical with Amol Rajan is a Today podcast for BBC Radio 4. Episode are released every Thursday and you can also listen to them on BBC Sounds: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/p0gg4k6r
