2024-04-22
7 分钟The Economist. Hello, this is Alok Jha,
host of Babbage, our weekly podcast on science and technology.
Welcome to Editor's Picks.
We've chosen an unmissable article from the latest edition of The Economist.
Please do have a listen.
Two months ago,
Daisy Greenwell and Claire Furnihoe set up a WhatsApp group to discuss how to stave off their young children's demands for smartphones.
After they posted about their plans on Instagram, other parents wanted in.
Now their group, Smartphone Free Childhood,
has more than 60,000 followers debating how to keep their children away from the demon devices,
a debate they are naturally conducting on smartphones of their own.
This group, based in Britain, is not the only one worried about children's screen time.
Last month, the state of Florida passed a law banning social media for under-14s.
Britain's government is reportedly considering a ban on mobile phone sales to under-16s.
The concerns are summed up by a recent book by Jonathan Haidt, The Anxious Generation,
which argues that smartphones and especially the social networks accessed through them are causing a malign rewiring of childhood.
In a contentious debate, two things are fairly clear.
First, smartphones and social media have become a big part of childhood.
By the age of 12, nearly every child has a phone, according to research in Britain.
Once they get one, social media is how they spend most of their screen time.