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There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear (1 John 4:18a, ESV).
A recent book I read said, “There was little sign of an impending mental illness crisis among adolescents in the 2000s.” This same book indicated that major depression among teens has gone up at least one hundred and fifty percent since 2010.
Realizing this trend, Jonathan Haidt just published his book entitled The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness.
All parents and grandparents should read this book.
Am I being an alarmist? Read the following quote from the book:
Social media companies, by designing a firehose of addictive content that entered through kids’ eyes and ears, and by displacing physical play and in-person socializing, these companies have rewired childhood and changed human development on an almost unimaginable scale. The most intense period of this rewiring was from 2010 to 2015.
All parents and grandparents should tell all the other parents’ and grandparents’ friends to read this book!
Why does intensive social media interaction cause mental illness in children?
The reward-seeking parts of the brain mature earlier, the frontal cortex—essential for self-control, delay of gratification, and resistance to temptation—is not up to full capacity until the mid-20s, and preteens are at a particularly vulnerable point in development.
Other studies of the brain indicate that the frontal cortex is responsible for judgment, emotions, language, and maintaining social appropriateness. And overstimulation of other parts of the brain by social media limits development in the frontal cortex.
As my new favorite book says:
Companies that strive to maximize “engagement” by using psychological tricks to keep young people clicking were the worst offenders. They hooked children during vulnerable developmental stages while their brains were rapidly rewiring in response to incoming stimulation.
We can’t literally storm the gates of Fortnite and burn it to the ground, so what can parents and grandparents do?
First, remember the Bible has already given advice.
Love is developed in the frontal cortex. And as the Apostle John says, “Perfect love cast out fear [and anxiety].”
Relational development must replace media addiction.
Second, read this book.
It gives the reason and plenty of advice for action.
Parents and grandparents, let’s unite.