Jonathan Haidt, acclaimed social psychologist, published his latest book, “The Anxious Generation” last week. In line with Screenagers’ Away For The Day Campaign, Haidt says having access to phones during the school day is a major contributor to rising anxiety and depression rates in adolescents.
The “Away for the Day” campaign, launched in 2017, encourages families, schools, and communities to keep cell phones away for the entire school day. Research shows that academics increase and social interaction flourishes when kids are not distracted by phones, even when they are in their pockets or backpacks.
Haidt’s June 2023 article in the Atlantic, “Get Phones Out of Schools Now,” echoes the Screenagers’ Away for the Day campaign.
“It is nice to have a revered national voice saying what we have been advocating for 7 years,” Screenagers’ filmmaker Dr. Delaney Ruston says. Phones in schools take away the opportunity for kids to truly focus on the academic and in-person social experience. When kids are experiencing anxiety, having constant reminders of anxiety-inducing situations on social media all day can contribute to their painful state.”
In a CNN op-ed, Dr. Ruston discusses the dip in academics and face-to-face connections among adolescents who use their phones in school. Since Away For The Day’s launch, hundreds of schools around the world have adopted a no-phones policy, using the tools provided by the campaign.
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