How digital media is transforming childhood

We face new challenges in media education every day. Smartphones and social media have revolutionised childhood around the world. And although this is associated with numerous problems, especially for adolescents, the leading technology companies have so far done little to improve the obvious structural weaknesses and shortcomings of their offerings.

Because the industry is fixated on rapid growth, it obviously doesn't matter much to them if children well under the prescribed age of 13 register on social media. As no-one checks their false age information, young children in particular end up in situations that harass, stress and disturb them.

What influence do digital media have on mental health?

When they search for orientation in this bling-bling filter world of Instagram or Tiktok, for example, the supposedly perfect images disseminated there often lead to a deep dissatisfaction with their own growing bodies. It has also long been known that adults with paedophilic tendencies have chosen the world of games and social networks as their personal hunting ground.

So the key question is: What is all this doing to our children?

One of the author's most urgent theses is that the addictive content of corporations has rewired childhood.

Year after year, studies are published in Switzerland and internationally that show the impact of digital media on the well-being and mental health of children and young people. In his new book, the American social psychologist Jonathan Haidt takes a closer look at the changes in childhood that have occurred since the introduction of the smartphone.

His judgement is already clear from the title: «Generation Anxiety - How we are losing our children to the virtual world and putting their mental health at risk». Admittedly, that sounds very sensationalist. However, the 448-page work, which topped the bestseller list in the USA, is calm, well-founded and absolutely worth reading.

Incidentally, Haidt does not reject digital devices and media. He even describes his first iPhone as a «remarkable digital Swiss Army knife». At that early stage, however, Haidt admits that he could not have foreseen the addictive craving that the device would trigger. In his opinion, the «monopolisation» of attention began with the launch of the first apps and then gathered momentum with the introduction of share and like buttons.

«Radical new form of growing up»

One of the author's most urgent theses is that the addictive content of corporations has rewired childhood. As the «most intensive phase of this rewiring» took place between 2010 and 2015, Haidt focuses primarily on Generation Z, which he describes as «guinea pigs for a radically new form of growing up».

In the first chapter, Haidt uses numerous studies, figures and diagrams to demonstrate how anxiety, depression, self-harm and suicide attempts among children and young people have increased enormously, in some cases by a factor of two and a half. Incidentally, these worrying findings are not reserved for US teens alone; a similar trend has already been identified in this country.

According to Zurich psychiatrist Dagmar Pauli in an interview with the «Schweizer Ärzteblatt», there is a group of young people in Switzerland «who show symptoms of depression, anxiety and eating disorders in particular. This group has grown significantly in the last ten years, so we have to speak of an alarming situation.»

In his book, Haidt divides childhood into «play-based» and «smartphone-based»: «Free play,» he writes, «is crucial for the development of both social and physical skills. But play-based childhood has been replaced by smartphone-based childhood, with children and adolescents shifting their social lives and leisure time to internet-connected devices.» If children lack the opportunity to have real experiences, then we can «justifiably describe smartphones and tablets in the hands of children as experience blockers».

In another thesis, Haidt does not only see the tech companies as being responsible, but also blames the fearfulness of educators for the fatal undesirable development. «While unsupervised outdoor play was increasingly restricted, PCs became more and more common and offered children an inviting opportunity to spend their free time at home.»

Ambivalence of the parents

According to Haidt, «overprotection in the real world and underprotection in the virtual world are the main reasons» why children born after 1995 have become an anxious generation. The US psychologist quite rightly criticises the ambivalence of parents who want to protect their children from sex offenders in the real world, but lack precisely this level of care in the digital spaces where children and young people spend their time.

In the final chapter, the book presents possible solutions aimed at parents, tech companies and politicians. At times, Haidt, who is also considered an expert on moral issues, slips into a pastoral tone. There is even a chapter on spirituality. However, it is not about religion, but about the fundamental values of a society.

Haidt's book shows that we need to focus our education equally on the real and the digital world.

Many of his demands are urgent: in his opinion, schools should be completely mobile phone-free, children should not have their own smartphones before the age of 14 and social media should only be permitted from the age of 16. However, the book does not say how realistic this is. Above all, however, Haidt argues that children should be allowed more «unsupervised play» and «independence in childhood».

Overall, «Generation Angst» is a very worthwhile read because it provides a solid and comprehensible description of how childhood has developed in the smartphone era since 2010. It makes it clear that tech companies have a great responsibility to protect children and that politicians should therefore take a more restrictive approach towards them. However, Haidt's book also shows that we need to place equal emphasis on the real and digital worlds in our education. If we create an environment that is too safe for children, according to a cartoon in the non-fiction book, we would be preparing them poorly for real life.

Book tip

Jonathan Haidt: Generation Anxiety - How we are losing our children to the virtual world and jeopardising their mental health. Rowohlt 2024, 448 pages, approx. 30 Fr.