Three years ago, the nation’s top doctor issued a grim advisory. U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy warned that while technology had improved our lives in various ways, having too much of a good thing was possible. The convenience of holding the world in our hands through cellphones and constant communication had a dark side, and America’s children were paying the highest price.
His 2021 report detailed the adverse effects young people have been grappling with since they first signed into an app: depression, distraction, bullying, exclusion and a deep erosion of self-worth. To believe his words was to understand we were raising a generation of Americans who constantly felt like they were too much or not enough, depending on whatever influenced them on social media that day.
“Too often, young people are bombarded with messages through the media and popular culture that erode their sense of self-worth—telling them they are not good looking enough, popular enough, smart enough, or rich enough. That comes as progress on legitimate, and distressing, issues like climate change, income inequality, racial injustice, the opioid epidemic, and gun violence feels too slow,” Murthy’s report said.
Add in recovery from a global pandemic, economic instability, an overabundance of social media influencers and a shortage of mental health providers, and it’s not surprising that our country has, once again, largely ignored a surgeon general’s warning.
Murthy was concerned at the time that we would beat COVID-19 only to face another tragedy with our children. “Mental health challenges in children, adolescents, and young adults are real, and they are widespread.”
But it was a problem he believed we could fix because mental health challenges are treatable and often preventable, Murthy said. It wouldn’t be easy, though. “To be sure, this isn’t an issue we can fix overnight or with a single prescription. Ensuring healthy children and families will take an all-of-society effort, including policy, institutional, and individual changes in how we view and prioritize mental health.”
Three years later, several news stories and books have been written on the dangers of kids having cellphones and social media too soon, especially if they use them in unsafe ways and without limitations. Policies have been debated at all levels of government, from school boards to Congress. Students recently returned to schools with new rules and restrictions about cellphone use in class.
We support the schools, teachers and administrators who say students shouldn’t be distracted by cellphones in class. We also suggest — while pointing fingers at ourselves, too — that our children may be picking up some of our bad habits. Are students more addicted to their phones than most adults? Research and observation say no.
Most Americans don’t go an hour without looking at their phones, especially those of us whose jobs involve keeping in close contact with sources, clients, consumers and so on. Our phones are with us at dinners, dates, business meetings, funerals and weddings. Even when they’re face down on a table, they silently and subconsciously signal to those around us what our priorities are. Do you think our kids haven’t picked up on this?
There are undoubtedly some positives to cellphones. We can manage our banking and medical appointments from the palms of our hands. We can quickly reach our kids, parents, partners and friends. We’re immediately alerted of breaking news. We can do whatever we want because we don’t need to wait at home or an office for critical information, yet we’re often doing nothing but scrolling wherever we are. We spend more time watching other people stagecraft their lives rather than living our own. And what have we really gained since Murthy’s first warning? Probably a few Amazon boxes full of stuff we could most certainly live without.
Our lack of progress was evident in Murthy’s new warning last week — this time to the nation’s 63 million parents, who he said have been more likely to experience high levels of stress during the last decade. Financial pressures, time demands, worrying about their children, parental isolation and loneliness, cultural pressures, technology and social media were among the stress inducers Murthy cited.
Without heeding his warnings this time, we could lose what he urged us to strive for three years ago: a healthier, more resilient and more fulfilled nation.
