It Was the Damn Phones

A Gen Z poet conveys the effects of the phone-based childhood

Introduction from Jon Haidt and Zach Rausch:

It has been true for hundreds of years: older generations worry about whatever new technology young people are using, and whatever new media they are consuming. This is why some people believe that the current wave of concern about social media and smartphones is overblown, like earlier concerns about violence in comic books and music lyrics. These skeptics say that no new norms or laws are needed.

But during all previous waves, most young people liked the things they were doing (as far as we know).¹ They were grateful to have access to radios, TV shows, comic books, and rap music. They did not create organizations to fight back against these industries for harming kids.

How do members of Gen Z feel about smartphones and social media? Are they grateful to have gotten them in middle school? As we (and several others) have shown using surveys, the answer is no. Many members of Gen Z have deep regrets about growing up attached to these products. They see the damage done, and there is a growing movement to push back.

But surveys just convey numbers. To understand more deeply, and to better empathize, we need to hear members of Gen Z in their own words. We have featured several such writers here at After Babel: Freya India, Gabriela Nguyen, Rikki Schlott, and Eli George.

Today we bring you one of the most powerful Gen Z writers we’ve encountered: Kori Jane Spaulding. A poet from Houston, Texas, Kori is just 21 years old and has already published three books of poems and one novel (all listed at the bottom of this post). She also performs her poems and posts the videos on Instagram and TikTok, with a style that is haunting.

We reached out to Kori to ask if we could share her work with the After Babel community. She uploaded a video of the poem that first caught our attention, and provided a transcript as well. We encourage you to watch the video first, then read the transcript below — and afterward, take a moment to explore more of her work.

We’re grateful to Kori Jane for giving voice to so many in her generation, and for the path to empathy that she gives us all.

– Jon and Zach

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Below is a transcription of the spoken word poem shared in the video. A slightly different version of the poem can be found in two of Kori’s books: Books Close (pg. 92-93), and Ajar (pg. 270-271).

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It Was the Damn Phones

By Kori Jane Spaulding

I think our parents were right.

It was the damn phones.

We laughed as children, hearing, “It’s that Snapgram and Instachat and Facetok”.

They didn’t understand. They couldn’t even say it right. We thought we knew better than them.

They didn’t know what it was like, having the world at the tip of our fingers.

We scroll through the trash so much, we have news headlines tattooed on our skin.

Wires for veins. AI for a brain. And they may not have understood. But they were right.

It was the damn phones.

I prided myself on sobriety, on being drunk with only propriety. I was above addiction.

A hypocritical notion. For am I not addicted to my own anxiety?

Brought on by a need for constant stimulation. A drug in our pockets.

But who can blame us? We were but children when they were given.

We didn’t know how to stop it. If I added up all the hours I spent on a screen,

existential dread and regret would creep in. So I ignore this fact by opening my phone.

And it’s not like I can throw it away. It’s how we communicate. It’s how we relate.

It’s a medicine that is surely making our souls die.

I used to say I was born in the wrong generation, but I was mistaken.

For I do everything I say I hate. Exchanging hobbies for Hinge,

truth with TikTok, intimacy with Instagram, sanity with Snapchat.

I have become self-aware. Almost worse than being naive. I know it’s poison, but I drink away.

The character behind the phone screen has become self-aware.

We used to be scared of robots gaining consciousness, a lie by the media companies.

To keep us distracted enough, so not to become conscious of the mess they created.

We are the robots. We are the product. And so I sit and I scroll and I rot on repeat.

Sit and scroll and rot.

Until my thoughts are what is being fed to me on TV,

until my feelings are wrapped up in celebrities,

until my body is a tool of my political identity.

I sit and I scroll and I rot.

And I post on the internet how the internet has failed us

so that I may not fail my internet presence. I think our parents were right.

It was the damn phones.

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More about Kori Jane

• Kori Jane’s home page and Amazon page

• Links to her three books of poetry:

  • Books Close

  • Open Wounds

  • Ajar

• Follow Kori on TikTok at Korijanes and on Instagram at Kori.janes

• The jacket copy of her new book — a novel: Behind The Picket Fence.

In a time when mental health awareness is at its peak, mental health issues are higher than ever. This ironic dichotomy inspired Kori’s novel, Behind The Picket Fence, where she dives into the complexities of the mental illness crisis facing this generation. Social media and technology have birthed a culture focused on material consumption, constant stimulation, and an obsession with self. This book explores the virtue of stepping into others’ shoes and how doing so may even save one’s soul. Mallory, despite a seemingly perfect life, finds herself on the brink of suicide the same day she’s nominated for prom queen. In this modern-day coming-of-age novel, the reader joins Mallory as she steps into the shoes of her loved ones, reliving the same day through seven unique perspectives. People growing up in this age are hungry for something to blame. This book ignores the question Why me? and poses the question What now?. What do we do when this Western dream turns into a nightmare?

1. The evidence against the “moral panic” thesis is not just that so many members of Gen Z say that they have been harmed. There is also mounting empirical evidence of harm, including confessions from the companies themselves.