Young people have been reporting a sharp rise in anxiety and depression. This maps neatly onto the global rise of the smartphone. Some researchers are convinced that one is causing the other. But how strong is the evidence?
- RESOURCES:
- "TheDeclining Mental Health Of The Young And The Global Disappearance Of The Hump Shape In Age In Unhappiness," by David G. Blanchflower, Alex Bryson, and Xiaowei Xu (NBER Working Paper, 2024).
- "FurtherEvidence on the Global Decline in the Mental Health of the Young," by David G. Blanchflower, Alex Bryson, Anthony Lepinteur, and Alan Piper (NBER Working Paper, 2024).
- No Judgment: Essays, by Lauren Oyler (2024).
- "ToWhat Extent are Trends in Teen Mental Health Driven by Changes in Reporting?" by Adriana Corredor-Waldron and Janet Currie (Journal of Human Resources, 2024).
- The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness, by Jonathan Haidt (2024).
- "GlobalWell-Being and Mental Health in the Internet Age," by Matti Vuorre and Andrew K. Przybylski (Clinical Psychological Science, 2023).
- "AreMental Health Awareness Efforts Contributing to the Rise in Reported Mental Health Problems? A Call to Test the Prevalence Inflation Hypothesis," by Lucy Foulkes and Jack L. Andrews (New Ideas in Psychology, 2023).
- "TheAssociation Between Adolescent Well-Being and Digital Technology Use," by Amy Orben and Andrew K. Przybylski (Nature Human Behaviour, 2019).
- iGen: Why Today's Super-Connected Kids Are Growing Up Less Rebellious, More Tolerant, Less Happy — and Completely Unprepared for Adulthood — and What That Means for the Rest of Us, by Jean M. Twenge (2017).
- EXTRAS:
- "Are You Caught in a Social Media Trap?" by Freakonomics Radio (2024).
- "Are We Getting Lonelier?" by No Stupid Questions (2023).
- "Is Facebook Bad for Your Mental Health?" by Freakonomics, M.D. (2022).
- "Why Is U.S. Media So Negative? (Replay)," by Freakonomics Radio (2022).
