Slashdot Mirror
Slashdot Asks: Have Smartphones Destroyed a Generation? (theatlantic.com)
Teens today are more likely to be lonely, depressed and immature than any previous generation, according to analysis published in The Atlantic. According to the professor of psychology who did the analysis, who also has been researching generational differences for 25 years, the culprit is the smartphone. From the article: The advent of the smartphone and its cousin the tablet was followed quickly by hand-wringing about the deleterious effects of "screen time." But the impact of these devices has not been fully appreciated, and goes far beyond the usual concerns about curtailed attention spans. The arrival of the smartphone has radically changed every aspect of teenagers' lives, from the nature of their social interactions to their mental health. These changes have affected young people in every corner of the nation and in every type of household. The trends appear among teens poor and rich; of every ethnic background; in cities, suburbs, and small towns. Where there are cell towers, there are teens living their lives on their smartphone. What do you folks think?
People have complaining about the youth having something wrong with them since before the trial of Socrates. There's always something to blame, be it a philosopher, books, video games, or smartphones. People will talk down about a generation until that generation gets old enough to have power in society. Then, they will in turn talk down to next generation. Circle of life I suppose.
The important question is not "What do folks think?" but "What does the data say?". In this case, the data appears to say nothing. TFA is just conjecture, opinion, and a few correlations, which as we all know, are not the same as causation.
Maybe, buried deep behind an obscure link, there is some actual evidence that the world really is going to hell because of corruption of the youth. If so, I would appreciate someone pointing it out.
If any of the things you insist are "obvious" were actually true, then it would be easy to support them with actual data ... yet you can't.
Research has suggested a causal link for years.
If you disagree, post your argument. (-1, Overrated) isn't your personal censorship tool for views you don't like.