Phones and the Importance of Play: Are phones really to blame for the decline in kids’ mental health?

Listen to this episode from ParentData with Emily Oster on Spotify. If you're a parent who reads the news - and who listens to this podcast - you probably heard a lot about screens this summer. And even now, as kids go back to school, we're hearing a lot about phones. No phones in schools. Put your phone in a Yondr pouch. Hide your phone in your backpack. People are doing TikToks in the bathroom. Take their phones away.Social psychologist Jonathan Haidt is at the forefront of a lot of these conversations. His book, The Anxious Generation, has really galvanized a lot of these conversations, around kids and phones and schools and their mental health. Today on ParentData, Jon joins us to talk about it all: both what his research has revealed and what's gotten a fair amount of pushback, particularly around the question of whether phones are really the boogeyman for teen mental health that everyone seems to think they are.Study on social media and mental health (Braghieri, Levy, and Makarin: American Economic Review, Nov. 2022)Subscribe to ParentData.org for free access to new articles every week on data-driven pregnancy and parenting.We're looking for your questions for a podcast Q&A! Record a voice memo (under a minute) and send it to [email protected]. Thank you!ParentData is generously supported by: Honeycomb Skylight (Use code PARENTDATA for 15% off your Calendar purchase!) StrollerCoaster podcast Whole Foods Market