Pay Attention to Your Moral Intuition Regarding Phones - Cal Newport

      In a recent review in the New Yorker of Matt Richtel’s latest book, How We Grow Up, Molly Fischer provides an insightful summary of the ongoing discussion surrounding the effects of phones and social media on teenagers. She specifically highlights Jon Haidt’s book, The Anxious Generation, which has notably remained on the Times bestseller list for 66 weeks.

      “Haidt presents various statistics from English-speaking and Nordic countries to argue that the increasing levels of teen unhappiness represent a global issue that needs a global explanation,” Fischer states. “However, it is also possible to select different data that complicates Haidt’s narrative—for instance, among South Korean teenagers, depression rates declined between 2006 and 2018.”

      Fischer mentions that suicide rates in America have risen across various demographics, not just among teens, and that some critics suggest that the rise in depression among adolescent girls can be attributed to improved screening (though Haidt counters this by pointing out that self-harm hospitalizations in this demographic increased alongside mental health diagnoses).

      The type of critique that Fischer outlines is familiar to me, as I often engage with these topics in my writing and speaking. While some of this criticism stems from posturing and a desire for status, much of it appears to be well-meaning; it reflects the slow and sometimes difficult process of science grappling with vague data, as it examines various claims and counterclaims, ultimately striving towards a more refined understanding.

      Nonetheless, there is something about this discussion that increasingly unsettles me. I struggled to articulate my discomfort until I encountered Ezra Klein's interview with Haidt, published last April (thanks to Kate McKay for the reference).

      What drew me in was not the interview itself, but rather a remark Klein made in his introduction:

      “I have always found the discourse surrounding [The Anxious Generation] somewhat irritating because it highlights a challenge we face in parenting and society: the tendency to reduce everything to social science. Unless I can demonstrate something is harmful with data on a chart, we often lack the vocabulary to express that it is indeed bad.”

      To me, this trend signifies a diminishing understanding of what constitutes a good life and what it means to thrive as a human being.

      Klein articulates my frustrations well. In elite, highly educated circles, such as those I frequent, we have become so accustomed to technical language that we’re starting to relinquish our moral judgment to statistical evaluations.

      We are often reluctant to take a firm stance because we fear that the data may indicate we were incorrect, which would expose us to the embarrassment of technocratic totalitarianism—allowing the complexities of individual emotions to distract us from the ideal operational protocols. We are eager to do what is considered the right—read: socially acceptable—thing, seeking validation from a network of experts to confirm this.

      However, when it comes to children, we cannot and should not relinquish our moral instincts.

      If you feel uneasy about the potential effects these devices may have on your children, you shouldn’t wait for the scientific community to provide conclusive evidence regarding depression rates in South Korea before taking action.

      While data can be useful, much of parenting relies on instinct. For instance, I don’t feel comfortable allowing my pre-adolescent son unrestricted access to pornography, harmful rhetoric, mind-numbing video games, or highly addictive content on a device that he can carry with him everywhere. I understand this is not a good idea for him, despite ongoing debates among social psychologists regarding statistical effect sizes in studies about the harms of phones.

      Our responsibility is to guide our children towards “flourishing” as individuals (to use Klein’s term), and this involves as much of our lived experiences as it does research. Regarding phones and children, our moral intuition is essential. We ought to trust it.

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