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On the phone, alone – The New York Times

Many measures of adolescent mental health begin to deteriorate circa 2009. True to the number of US high school students who say they feel sad or hopeless on a regular basis. The same is true for reported loneliness. And the same is true of self-harm emergency room visits among 10- to 19-year-old Americans.

The timing is questionable as teen Internet use also started to soar during the same period. Apple started selling iPhones in 2007. Facebook opened up for general use in late 2006, and one-third of Americans were using it in 2009.

Last month, The Times began publishing a series of articles about adolescent mental healthand the latest work – focusing on pediatricians struggling to help – has just been published.

The author of the series is Matt Richtel, who has spent over a year interviewing teenagers, their relatives and friends. In my recent conversation with Matt about his report, he tried to highlight the uncertainty about the specific causes of the crisis, including the role of social media.

“When you look at the specific research on the role social media plays in young people, it’s quite contradictory,” he said. Some studies show that teens who use social media a lot are more likely to feel sad or depressed, while others see little or no effect. There is no evidence that TikTok or the social network’s “like” button is causing the mental health crisis.

But Matt also argues that some narrow questions of causation are secondary. He points out that it seems undeniable that the increasingly powerful use of digital technology has changed the rhythm of everyday life.

It has led teenagers to spend less time on personal activities, like dating, hanging out with friends, and going to church. Technology use also contributes to reduced exercise and sleep. The percentage of high school students who sleep at least 8 hours a night fell 30% from 2007 to 2019, Derek Thompson of The Atlantic noted.

Technology use is not the only cause of these trends. Modern parenting strategies, among other factors, also play an important role. But digital technology – be it social networking, video games, text messaging or other online activities – plays a powerful role, many experts say.

“If you don’t get time to relax outdoors and get enough sleep – and you can almost stop at not getting enough sleep – then any human being is challenged,” says Matt. “When you let the pubertal brain enter that equation, you’re talking about someone being really, really challenged to feel content, at peace, and happy with the world around them.”

The role of any particular social media platform or behavior may remain unknown, but the larger story of American teenagers and their emotional struggles is less of a mystery.

Dr. Melissa Dennison, a pediatrician in central Kentucky who has seen many unlucky teens, told Matt: “They have too much screen time, no sleep and no use. telephone. Dennison regularly encourages his patients to walk outdoors or attend church.

It is true that the decline of person-to-person interactions has had some notable points. Teenagers today are less likely to use tobacco, drink alcohol, or get pregnant. But the net effect of less communication is negative. Most people struggle when they don’t make time for other people.

Of course, the Covid-19 pandemic has exacerbated isolation, loneliness and depression. In December, the US Surgeon General warned of a “devastating” mental health crisis among US youth.

I find Covid to be a particularly relevant comparison. Over the past two years, millions of American parents have shown a deep concern for their children by trying to protect them from Covid. Fortunately, Covid by chance mild for the vast majority of children, which causes neither severe illness nor long-lasting symptoms. A sign that: Young children, who are not yet eligible for immunization, have a significantly lower average risk of illness than vaccinated adults over 65.

However, I understand why many parents are still worried. Covid is new and scary. It taps into a parent’s fiercely protective instincts.

What makes less sense to me is why our society has done so little to protect children from the obvious damage of pervasive digital media. They are almost certainly bigger for most children than the threat posed by Covid.

For more:

Life Lived: Midge Decter, an architect of neoliberalism, abandoned liberal politics, challenged the women’s movement, and championed the Reagan Republican agenda. She died at the age of 94.

Yesterday, Tony Awards Announcement of the nominees. The ceremony will be chaired by Ariana DeBose, who won the Academy Award for “Western Stories” this year.

Most nominated: “A strange loop” a Pulitzer Prize-winning musical about an aspiring playwright, written by Michael R. Jackson. The play received 11 nominations, including best musical. Good luck finding tickets.

Prizes for everyone! Of the 34 programs eligible for the nomination, 29 received at least one nod, including criticized “Diana.”

OK, not everyone: It’s not a real award show unless someone is snubbed. “Overcoming”, a well-reviewed play by Antoinette Chinonye Nwandu, has been closed. So are married couple Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick, who are in the midst of a popular revival of “Plaza Suite.” Daniel Craig wasn’t nominated for his role in “Macbeth,” although his co-star, Ruth Negga, did.

How can I watch? The show, scheduled for June 12 at Radio City Music Hall, will have two parts: an hour-long awards segment streamed on Paramount+, followed by a dense show of performances. three hours on CBS.

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