Discussion about this post

User's avatar
Jim Geschke's avatar

I'm a father, grandfather, former journalist, P.R. professional and teacher (14 years, now retired), and currently a reborn writer also on Substack. My longevity (68 years old) and personal and professional life put me in direct view of the issues Haidt, Twenge, Lukianoff, Gray, et. al. have researched and published. In other words, I've seen in real life and real time the destructive behaviors and consequences in young people that their data reflect.

As a teacher I saw what the phones did to my classroom and how it captured my students' most valuable asset: their attention. I saw how adolescent social and learning growth went from free play in the 20th century but moved indoors with the advent of smartphones and social media in the late 2000s and early 2010s. I saw first hand the damaging effects of young people's retreat into social isolation.

It concerns me greatly. I often write about the plight of boys and men in my Quoth the Maven newsletter on Substack (https://jimgeschke.substack.com/p/the-politics-of-boys-and-men). I've seen the problems and am looking at viable answers and, more importantly, how these answers may translate into public policy.

Dr. Haidt writes about banning phones from schools during school hours. A great start. But what else? How can policy influence parenting and curtailment of isolationism and resultant despair of young people? I'm open to anyone's input and hope to write more about this critical issue.

Expand full comment
Ben's avatar

To start 2024 on a hopefully positive note: reading the posts on here about the loss of independence and constant supervision of children inspired me and my wife to let our 9yo go to the shop nearby unaccompanied for the first time.

And, honestly? I hated it, at first. It’s not just children that are anxious compared to earlier generations. But now it seems like second nature and our child is more confident and happy at getting a little independence. And I would credit this substack for getting our family over that initial anxiety.

Expand full comment
53 more comments...

No posts