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Parents alone cannot protect kids from social media
Like the tobacco companies before them, technology behemoths are making money by addicting our children to a harmful product.
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Governments and all the social institutions that help nurture children’s development must also do their part, says the writer.
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION: PEXELS
Lisa Jarvis
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Children today are growing up immersed in a digital world that is taking a toll on their mental health. Many parents know it’s a problem but don’t know how to fix it. The problem is too big.
Social psychologist Jonathan Haidt offers a prescription in his new book, The Anxious Generation: How The Great Rewiring Of Childhood Is Causing An Epidemic Of Mental Illness. Professor Haidt provides a necessary data-driven argument against a phone-obsessed childhood. But his most immediate solutions rely heavily on the collective will of parents to change course – a tacit acknowledgement that societal solutions are unlikely to arrive in time for this generation. Parents need more help.
