Summary
Do we need to "do something" about the effects of smartphones on teenage children? The backlash against the omnipresent devices has begun. Parents on both sides of the Atlantic are increasingly worried that smartphones pose a threat to the current generation of teenagers, who have grown up with a phone almost constantly in their hand. Smartphones make our teenagers anxious, tired narcissists who lack empathy and the ability to communicate properly in person. Or so the story goes.
David Baker examines the evidence behind the case against smartphones. He hears from the academics calling for action to curb the addictive pull of the screen and from a former Silicon Valley developer who won't let his children have a smartphone. But he also speaks to experts convinced this is just another moral panic about technology's effect on the young. Could there be a danger in blaming smartphones for the rise in teenage anxiety, especially among girls, at the expense of finding the real cause?
What, if anything, should we be doing to protect our kids? And who can we look to for guidance in fashioning a healthy relationship with this incredibly powerful piece of kit?
Producer: Lucy Proctor.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Just before this BBC podcast gets underway, here's something you may not know. |
| 0:04.6 | My name's Linda Davies and I commission podcast for BBC Sounds. |
| 0:08.4 | As you'd expect, at the BBC we make podcasts of the very highest quality featuring the most knowledgeable |
| 0:14.3 | experts and genuinely engaging voices. What you may not know is that the BBC |
| 0:20.4 | makes podcasts about all kinds of things like pop stars, |
| 0:24.6 | poltergeist, cricket, and conspiracy theories and that's just a few examples. |
| 0:29.7 | If you'd like to discover something a little bit unexpected, find your next podcast over at BBC Sounds. |
| 0:36.0 | This is the BBC. |
| 0:41.0 | Thanks for downloading analysis. You might be listening to this podcast on a |
| 0:44.7 | smartphone or device. Should we be worried about the effect of screens and social |
| 0:49.3 | media on the mental health of teenage children. David Baker investigates. |
| 0:57.1 | The problem smartphones is that they suck you in. |
| 0:59.3 | Smartphones, they're infinitely deep. |
| 1:01.5 | It's a very deep rabbit hole. |
| 1:03.0 | This is the voice of someone who's concerned about technology. |
| 1:07.0 | And the funny thing is, he invented it. |
| 1:10.0 | My name is Lauren Brechtir. I'm an ex-employee of Apple and Twitter. |
| 1:14.4 | I didn't realize that there were these downsides |
| 1:18.7 | until a few years after I stopped working for Twitter, |
| 1:22.2 | the addictiveness of it. |
| 1:25.0 | Former Silicon Valley executives like Lauren are becoming more vocal. |
| 1:29.4 | Stepping back from the techno-optimism of the new digital age, |
... |
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