Teenagers and smartphones

The author tries very hard to convince the reader that teenagers (the group she calls iGen) who “spend more time than average on screen activities are more likely to be unhappy”, more prone to depression, and at greater risk for suicide.

There’s not a single exception. All screen activities are linked to less happiness, and all nonscreen activities are linked to more happiness.

But at the generational level, when teens spend more time on smartphones and less time on in-person social interactions, loneliness is more common.

So is depression. Once again, the effect of screen activities is unmistakable: The more time teens spend looking at screens, the more likely they are to report symptoms of depression.

After reading the article, I’m not at all convinced of definitive claims like this.

Source: Assorted Stuff : No, We Aren’t Losing a Generation to Smartphones

I’m pretty sure I heard a lot of these same arguments when I was a teenager in the 80s spending all my time on the computer.