I’m so thankful for your work and research. I a middle school counselor and HS coach. The amount of anxiety relating to the smart phone is insane! In our school district we’ve implemented a lot of your ideas like banning phones. It’s been great!
Quebec's full cellphone ban in schools, effective this fall, covers the entire day including breaks. Education Minister Bernard Drainville's announcement aligns with evidence that phones distract from learning. That's real progress, though federal action on social media lags provinces.
I have observed (and wrote about) the promotion of estrangement as self-care and empowerment for kids, and observed many social media influencers suggest adult children cut their parents off. Graphics can be found on social media that say things like, "You don't owe your parents anything" with "anything" highlighted in yellow.
Perhaps there is "real progress for kids", but maybe not so much for adult children as my observations, personally and with other parents I know, show a movement in the opposite direction as progress.
I would love to see future articles address the disturbing promotion of estrangement occuring on social media. Thank you.
Yes. After I found social media influencers and therapists promoting estrangement and dug into their content, I felt nauseous. It is deeply disturbing to see online and social media encouragement to break the parent-child bond, usurpt and undermine the guidance of parents and tout and applaud alienation behaviors of kids from their families. Please investigate and write about this online trend. Let's pivot towards valuing parents again. Thank you.
Most people love their parents and have no desire to be estranged from them, and influencers and therapists are not out to get healthy relationships. What's disturbing is parents trying to fix their relationship with their adult children through coercion.
Hey! This is my “beat” also. I would love to see a light shined on this phenomenon happening in many more families than ever, and yes not only normalized but promoted everywhere now. I’ll give you a follow! (by beat I just mean special interest, I’ve never actually written anything 🥴)
Can't speak for everyone like me, but I was one of the kids who almost cut off my parents because of the social media content I was consuming. I think a lot of this is because so much of my enculturation was done by the internet, and so my social norms around what's acceptable behavior are just really different from my parent's. This was then compounded by the fact that the same social media content will talk about what I experienced as abusive and traumatizing, which I feel like post-hoc traumatized me. I don't think there's a single correct answer on where the line for abuse is, but I do think a lot of the mental health side of the internet is too far on one side. Would love to see After Babel talk about this!
There was a big fight my brother and I had with my parents where they finally apologized for a lot of what they did. It was one of the only times they’ve ever apologized and it made me realize how human they are. Since then I’ve tried to forgive them for everything even if they don’t feel regretful for a lot of it, because it’s not their fault what I think of as reasonable behavior is so different from what they know.
If your kids stopped talking to you because they saw an Instagram post telling them they are not obligated to talk to you, the problem with your relationship did not start with social media. Most people want to have a relationship with their parents.
The upcoming year will truly be brimming with positive changes when the following reminders are heeded by people of all ages: Without people, tech is a paperweight. Scrolling on phones for hours or having their phones face down on a table so they won't look at them shows lack of personal discipline and commonsense and this can only be remedied by people, same for using or not using social media. Another world-changing occurrence will come when psychologists, social scientists and journalists routinely include people with disabilities in their studies and research. Excitement reigns supreme for people with disabilities for the tech advances of the new year, see the link below for a small taste of what has already occurred. Happy tech New Year, everybody! https://www.blindstreet.com/how-ai-revolutionizing-everyday-living-blind-people/
Notice the most popular post was about the long overdue pushback of the obvious and deliberate mass trauma of everyone decent by internet porn. Hopefully 2026 is the year we put pornographers and their enablers in jail where they belong. Modern internet porn is terrorism.
I enjoyed the anxious generation, it really made me look myself in the mirror. I am not feeling optimistic about our ban in Australia so far. Nothing has changed in reality, yet. Most of the kids we know are being verified as being 2-4 years older than they are. They are mainly still all plugged in and the social element of it is very strong (e.g. all friends message via Snapchat, social exclusion if not on it).
This is all so encouraging! I'm 67 and have a 5-year-old son in kindergarten. I pray we are on the cusp of a widespread childhood "re-set" and appreciate all the Babel team is doing!!
Thank you for a synopsis of the important work you are doing. I am CEO of a charity in Nebraska called ClarksonInstitute.org whose mission is to Make Nebraska the Healthiest State. One of our key initiatives is prevention of harm. Your work helps to inform us on how to do so in the social media and technology arena.
Hi Jon. Your work is inspirational. Congratulations. I’ve been profoundly concerned about tech and its impact on children and young people for a while. I am considering trying to lobby our national government for a step change of policy in the UK. Can you offer any advice? I appreciate this just be too much as you’re so engaged in your own nation’s politics. Thanks again for all your doing. Adrian
A big missing piece is portraying middle/high schoolers in books, movies, and TV shows who don’t have phones. I just asked chat gpt to find examples for me that I might share with my daughter and it only came up with post-apocalyptic examples or stories that take place in the past. Literally couldn’t find me a single example where a main character doesn’t have a phone and it takes place in modern day (might’ve missed some, but still!).
To normalize not having a phone, we need kids to see that in their entertainment. I hope someone is working on this!
I finally feel the tide turning, and I'm so grateful. I lost a son to suicide, and as a former digital marketing expert turned suicide prevention speaker, I saw firsthand how the digital age was contributing to the breakdown in community. Less face time, less freelance play time equals fewer opportunities to build resilience and healthy coping skills and that plays into mental health issues, addiction, self-harm, and suicide risk, which has also seen a sharp rise when smartphones hit the hands of young people. It is all related.
I include Anxious Generation as well as Careless People as books for parents to read in all my keynotes.
I love this video, "Let's Change The Norm" about smartphones and children.
I’m so thankful for your work and research. I a middle school counselor and HS coach. The amount of anxiety relating to the smart phone is insane! In our school district we’ve implemented a lot of your ideas like banning phones. It’s been great!
You should write about the benefits you see in your school. Start by asking the students what they notice.
Quebec's full cellphone ban in schools, effective this fall, covers the entire day including breaks. Education Minister Bernard Drainville's announcement aligns with evidence that phones distract from learning. That's real progress, though federal action on social media lags provinces.
Thank you for this excellent overview.
I have observed (and wrote about) the promotion of estrangement as self-care and empowerment for kids, and observed many social media influencers suggest adult children cut their parents off. Graphics can be found on social media that say things like, "You don't owe your parents anything" with "anything" highlighted in yellow.
Perhaps there is "real progress for kids", but maybe not so much for adult children as my observations, personally and with other parents I know, show a movement in the opposite direction as progress.
I would love to see future articles address the disturbing promotion of estrangement occuring on social media. Thank you.
good idea, this is such a painful topic for parents to think about, to know that it is happening and is being promoted online!
Yes. After I found social media influencers and therapists promoting estrangement and dug into their content, I felt nauseous. It is deeply disturbing to see online and social media encouragement to break the parent-child bond, usurpt and undermine the guidance of parents and tout and applaud alienation behaviors of kids from their families. Please investigate and write about this online trend. Let's pivot towards valuing parents again. Thank you.
Most people love their parents and have no desire to be estranged from them, and influencers and therapists are not out to get healthy relationships. What's disturbing is parents trying to fix their relationship with their adult children through coercion.
Hey! This is my “beat” also. I would love to see a light shined on this phenomenon happening in many more families than ever, and yes not only normalized but promoted everywhere now. I’ll give you a follow! (by beat I just mean special interest, I’ve never actually written anything 🥴)
Can't speak for everyone like me, but I was one of the kids who almost cut off my parents because of the social media content I was consuming. I think a lot of this is because so much of my enculturation was done by the internet, and so my social norms around what's acceptable behavior are just really different from my parent's. This was then compounded by the fact that the same social media content will talk about what I experienced as abusive and traumatizing, which I feel like post-hoc traumatized me. I don't think there's a single correct answer on where the line for abuse is, but I do think a lot of the mental health side of the internet is too far on one side. Would love to see After Babel talk about this!
Thank you for sharing! What made you pull back from the brink and preserve your relationship with your parents?
There was a big fight my brother and I had with my parents where they finally apologized for a lot of what they did. It was one of the only times they’ve ever apologized and it made me realize how human they are. Since then I’ve tried to forgive them for everything even if they don’t feel regretful for a lot of it, because it’s not their fault what I think of as reasonable behavior is so different from what they know.
If your kids stopped talking to you because they saw an Instagram post telling them they are not obligated to talk to you, the problem with your relationship did not start with social media. Most people want to have a relationship with their parents.
Love this roundup! Your conversation with Trevor Noah was one of my favourite this year.
As of March 2026, legislation mandating age assurance for services posing risks to children, such as social networks, will be in effect in Brazil
The upcoming year will truly be brimming with positive changes when the following reminders are heeded by people of all ages: Without people, tech is a paperweight. Scrolling on phones for hours or having their phones face down on a table so they won't look at them shows lack of personal discipline and commonsense and this can only be remedied by people, same for using or not using social media. Another world-changing occurrence will come when psychologists, social scientists and journalists routinely include people with disabilities in their studies and research. Excitement reigns supreme for people with disabilities for the tech advances of the new year, see the link below for a small taste of what has already occurred. Happy tech New Year, everybody! https://www.blindstreet.com/how-ai-revolutionizing-everyday-living-blind-people/
Notice the most popular post was about the long overdue pushback of the obvious and deliberate mass trauma of everyone decent by internet porn. Hopefully 2026 is the year we put pornographers and their enablers in jail where they belong. Modern internet porn is terrorism.
Thank you for spearheading this movement to save children around the world with parents and schools who care. Amen.
I enjoyed the anxious generation, it really made me look myself in the mirror. I am not feeling optimistic about our ban in Australia so far. Nothing has changed in reality, yet. Most of the kids we know are being verified as being 2-4 years older than they are. They are mainly still all plugged in and the social element of it is very strong (e.g. all friends message via Snapchat, social exclusion if not on it).
This is all so encouraging! I'm 67 and have a 5-year-old son in kindergarten. I pray we are on the cusp of a widespread childhood "re-set" and appreciate all the Babel team is doing!!
Thank you for a synopsis of the important work you are doing. I am CEO of a charity in Nebraska called ClarksonInstitute.org whose mission is to Make Nebraska the Healthiest State. One of our key initiatives is prevention of harm. Your work helps to inform us on how to do so in the social media and technology arena.
I am so grateful. Keep up the excellent work!
Your work is amazing! Very glad for its impact!
Any idea if it's been taken up in Germany anywhere?
Hi Jon. Your work is inspirational. Congratulations. I’ve been profoundly concerned about tech and its impact on children and young people for a while. I am considering trying to lobby our national government for a step change of policy in the UK. Can you offer any advice? I appreciate this just be too much as you’re so engaged in your own nation’s politics. Thanks again for all your doing. Adrian
A big missing piece is portraying middle/high schoolers in books, movies, and TV shows who don’t have phones. I just asked chat gpt to find examples for me that I might share with my daughter and it only came up with post-apocalyptic examples or stories that take place in the past. Literally couldn’t find me a single example where a main character doesn’t have a phone and it takes place in modern day (might’ve missed some, but still!).
To normalize not having a phone, we need kids to see that in their entertainment. I hope someone is working on this!
I finally feel the tide turning, and I'm so grateful. I lost a son to suicide, and as a former digital marketing expert turned suicide prevention speaker, I saw firsthand how the digital age was contributing to the breakdown in community. Less face time, less freelance play time equals fewer opportunities to build resilience and healthy coping skills and that plays into mental health issues, addiction, self-harm, and suicide risk, which has also seen a sharp rise when smartphones hit the hands of young people. It is all related.
I include Anxious Generation as well as Careless People as books for parents to read in all my keynotes.
I love this video, "Let's Change The Norm" about smartphones and children.
https://youtu.be/h_xwJ5u9I8o?si=guaX4aLqIE0Hh7WY