Are cellphones causing our kids’ anxiety problems? It’s more complicated than we think
You probably know that there’s a correlation between smartphones and anxiety and depression.
Smartphones make us feel envious — also known as FOMO, or Fear Of Missing Out — and prevent us from genuinely connecting with the people right in front of us, and cause anxiety as we try to respond to every beep and notification. Every adult should think very carefully about their smartphone use and every parent should have family guidelines for their children’s use of smartphones to help create healthy boundaries for their child and a balanced lifestyle.
Mental health is more complicated than a cellphone problem
However, we should think carefully before we blame all of society’s current emotional difficulties on smartphone use. Mental illness and emotional problems are more complicated than just a cellphone problem, or blaming biology alone or any other “silver bullet” explanation.
Here’s an example: Imagine you know someone who tried to run a marathon but couldn’t make it to the finish line. Is this a biological problem — does she have asthma or some other kind of barrier? Was it a psychological problem — if she had had the right inspiring playlist, could she have made it across the finish line? Or maybe a motivation problem — if she would have spent more time training, would she have been better prepared to run the race?
Though we should have a balanced relationship to our devices, we should think carefully before jumping to conclusions.
Which one of those is the right answer? The truth is, you don’t know and can’t know unless you spend some time talking with that specific runner and understanding her circumstances. There is no one-size-fits-all solution. The same is true for emotional and mental health.
Sometimes, it seems that people want to make cellphones carry all the blame. But even though we should take care to have a balanced relationship to our devices, we should think carefully before jumping to conclusions about one child. In fact, sometimes taking away a child’s phone can actually lead to very negative consequences.
Cellphones as a source of friendship
Last fall, the Utah Department of Health asked the U.S. Center for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC) to complete an investigation into our skyrocketing suicide numbers in Utah. The study came back with many insights, but there’s one finding in particular you might not have expected.
In 12.6 percent of the suicides they studied, shortly before the suicide, the child had experienced “family conflicts as a result of restriction to technology use or that resulted in a restriction to technology, such as having a mobile phone, tablet, laptop or gaming system being taken away by a parent or guardian.”
In 12.6 percent of the suicides they studied, the child had experienced family conflicts as a result of, or that resulted in, a restriction to technology.
Why is this? Again, it’s complicated and hard to know for sure, but here’s some food for thought. Every human being has a few essential needs, including food, sleep, a sense of safety, connection with other human beings and a feeling of respect and accomplishment. When those needs aren’t met, people struggle. Although cellphones may not be the ideal form of human connection, it plays a crucial role in a teenager’s friendships.
Without friendships and human connections, teenagers suffer. And it’s not just your usual teen drama fueled by hormones. Human connection is a genuine need all people have. If you take away a child’s cell phone without helping them find something else to fill that connection void in the meantime, you may be doing your child a disservice and making it more difficult for them to thrive.
Although cellphones may not be the ideal form of human connection, it plays a crucial role in a teenager’s friendships.
Of course, we support parents, adults, and children setting great digital boundaries for themselves and their families. Some teens will be able to moderate their own use; others will need help from an adult. But just like every person is different, every smartphone situation is different. If we spend too much time blaming devices as the primary culprit, it may make us unaware of the deeper issues behind a child’s anxiety or depression. ※
United Way is on a mission to help every child in our community feel safe, connected, and confident. Twice a month in this space, we’ll be sharing ideas from local professionals, parents, and friends about how you can do that for the kids in your life. In the meantime, find us at www.everydaystrong.org, or on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
Written by Michaelann Bradley, EveryDay Strong Director. Originally published at https://www.heraldextra.com on April 22, 2018.
