Jonathan Haidt, a social psychologist at New York University’s Stern School of Business, puts the blame squarely on our devices.
In his new book, “The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness,” he argues that the constant access to social media that phones have given us has led to social comparison, lack of sleep and loneliness in Generation Z. .
And he’s struck a chord: His book is currently No. 3 on the New York Times nonfiction bestseller list.
Zach Rausch, Haidt’s principal investigator and associate research scientist at New York University’s Stern School of Business, says children who had access to social media and iPhones in elementary and high school are more anxious and less productive.
“The goal of technology is for it to be a tool that we use to achieve our goals,” he says. “If you don’t, you’ll end up using us at the expense of our goals.”
But there are ways to curb these negative effects. Here are three things you can do today to increase your happiness and stay focused.
The fact that your phone is the last thing you interact with before bed and the first thing when you wake up can negatively impact your sleep and increase stress levels.
Buying an alarm clock and keeping your device out of your bedroom can create some physical and mental distance from social media.
Often, Instagram or text conversations don’t transition from digital to physical.
“We use flip phones to connect so we can meet in person,” says Rausch. “The online world is the opposite. We go online to stay there. And our argument is that that is not enough.”
We use flip phones to connect with each other and eventually meet in person. The online world is the complete opposite. We connect to stay there
Zach Rausch
Associate Research Scientist at NYU-Stern School of Business
Laurie Santos, a professor of happiness at Yale University, echoes this sentiment.
“All available study of happy people suggests that happy people are more sociable, spend more time physically with other people, and invest time in their friends and family,” Santos, who teaches the “Science of Wellbeing” course at Yale, told CNBC Make It.
Teens receive 237 smartphone notifications a day, according to a study 2023 which surveyed 203 adolescents and preteens between the ages of 11 and 17. Almost a quarter, 23%, arrived during school.
Muting your notifications can help you stay present and productive during the hours that matter most.
Rausch emphasizes that getting rid of smartphones is not a panacea for depression. But using your phone in a more thoughtful way can help you do activities proven to increase your happiness, like in-person social connection, and get more done.
“It’s not that we should reject technology outright,” he says. “It’s just that as technology is rapidly changing the way we live our lives, we need to pause and think about what we want this to be like in our lives. Is it fulfilling us? Is it helping us thrive? Is it helping us? helping us meet our goals?” goals? And if not, what can we do to change it?”
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