The Anxious Generation in Evolutionary Perspective

"A book, The Anxious Generation, argues that cellphone use is damaging young people's well-being. Evidence of various kinds shows that cellphone and social-media use often go hand-in-hand with anxiety. Restricting cellphones and social media in schools has quickly become a common practice. This restriction of cellphones in schools represents a huge win for the field of evolutionary psychology."

"Thousands of alumni of this storied program, many now in their 30s and 40s, sing its praises. The 8th-grade field trip was to Washington, DC. And it (by design) ended with a trip to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. The administration wanted the students to enter high school armed with an appreciation for the totality of the human experience and to be motivated to empathize with others from all walks of life-and to work toward positive change."

Cellphone and social-media use frequently coincides with increased anxiety and reduced well-being among adolescents. Schools have responded by imposing restrictions on cellphones and social platforms during the school day and on school trips. A once-cherished New York middle school with longstanding communal field trips experienced disruption as phones became ubiquitous, undermining inclusive traditions and educational aims. Administrators attempted bans and limited allowances, but enforcement grew difficult amid pervasive phone use and parental pressure. The introduction of school cellphone restrictions is interpreted as a significant policy shift that supports evolutionary-psychology explanations for social and mental-health effects in young people.

Read at Psychology Today