The Anxious Generation

Terri Novacek 

Imagine a home where conversations are based on personal experiences rather than what you learn about others through media, reflecting together on the things you and your children, learned, achieved and wondered conversations where you take time to understand how you feel, why you do the things you do, how you can get to a place you want to be, just thinking out loud and sharing, no Google, no Instagram and no YouTube, just you learning to be the best you.

Children grow to be the kind of person they believe themselves to be. That belief is shaped by our words and our actions and our interactions with peers as well as their solo experiences. Today's youth, however, has a new, powerful influencer, technology, regardless of your field of interest you've likely heard of Jonathan hates 2024, number one New York Times bestseller, The anxious generation, how the great rewiring of childhood is causing an epidemic of mental illness, and whether or not you're a parent or educator, this matters to you, because we aren't just talking about a small population of people, but an entire generation, The one we know best as Generation Z, over protection in the real world and under protection in the virtual world, are key reasons why children born after 1995 have become what hate refers to as the anxious generation, building on the work of social psychologist gene Twenge hate shares his perspective that this ancient generation won't have an end date unless we change the conditions of childhood that are fueling their anxiety over the past 20 years, childhood transitioned from play based to phone based with Children and Adolescents spending more time indoors and playing online, which meant more time engaged in fictional socialization and less time engaging in real world learning. It also meant more time near the refrigerator and the pantry for snacks, oftentimes unhealthy ones, and even when they weren't really hungry.

The shift has resulted in significant consequences. Rates of obesity have doubled since the 90s from 10 to 20% in ages six to 11, where time spent on screens has replaced active play. We see an increase in chronic illnesses such as asthma, diabetes and allergies, even conditions like hypertension and fatty liver, once rare in children, are becoming more common. These habits and behaviors do more than harm physical health. They rewire the command center of our brains, disrupting the development of executive function skills, those skills that help us manage our thoughts and our emotions and our behaviors, that help us achieve meaningful and healthy goals and navigate daily life, work relationships and challenges. Oftentimes, we hear reference to politics, wars, financial crisis, school shootings and such as the cause of mental health issues. The most popular crisis being the pandemic. While the pandemic did exacerbate mental health challenges, research shows that most of the rise occurred before COVID 19. What hate found in his research is that those global and cultural trends don't line up with the mental health crisis. What does stand out is the period of time between 2010 and 2015 which hate refers to as the great rewiring of childhood with the introduction of the iphone four in 2010 we see the front facing camera making it easier to take selfies. In the same year, Instagram emerged, and can only be used on smartphones. During this period, girls social lives moved onto social media platforms, and boys burrowed deeper into the virtual world to engage in online video games, YouTube, Reddit and even hardcore pornography.

The result, adolescents and even adults began losing the ability to be fully present with the people around them, thus leading to feelings of isolation and anxiety to counteract these trends, hate proposes four key reforms for healthier development in the digital age, no smartphones before high school, no social media before age 16, phone free schools and far more unsupervised play in childhood, independence in the next few episodes, we will be reflecting on those reforms. Are they reasonable? What difference might they make, and can they really help shift the trajectory of this ancient generation where once upon a time, curfew, car keys and hemlines once dominated, family disagreements, technology has now taken center stage. We know that humans have sensitive periods, those periods of time where we find it easier to learn something or acquire a skill. For example, we know learning a second language or how to play an instrument is easier for those ages 12 and younger. There's also a sensitive period for cultural learning, which has been found to be between ages nine and 15, knowing that imagine an adolescent who receives their first smartphone at age 11, knowing they will build their sense of identity and self worth during those next few years. How might this impact their long term development?

The power to change the trajectory of this generation lies in our hands, not just as parents, but all of us. I encourage you to pick up or download a copy of the anxious generation. I have barely touched the surface of the book here, and it offers a plethora of data, insight and advice for what parents and society can do. Now, my challenge to you for this episode is to consider an adolescent or teen or more than one in your life without overreacting, ask yourself, what can you do to help them be less influenced by online platforms and more engaged in real world family and community experiences. It doesn't have to be big, nor does it have to be a long list start with a simple change and build from there by creating real world experiences that inspire and challenge youth. We can protect them from negative influences of technology, and in the process, help them to discover their element.

I hope you found some value in today's episode. If so, please take a moment to leave a positive review on the podcast platform you use and share the episode on social media, if you visit the element is everything website, you'll find additional resources on today's topic. Invite friends and family to join our community of listeners as we ponder science perspectives and strategies around personal accountability, courageous learning and clear decision making, for a sense of connection to ourselves, others and life so.