OPINION — In recent research, reflected through multiple books, social psychologist Jonathan Haidt has laid out a sobering reality. As apps and social platforms become more important in our kids’ lives, their consistent access to screentime is not just changing how they communicate, but also how they grow up.
Our often uncritical adoption of tech has coincided with rising rates of anxiety and depression, social isolation and spiritual malaise — highlighting the urgency for our state and federal lawmakers to create responsible guardrails to insulate our kids from harm.
Haidt’s message is not alarmist, but a call for reflection, and it’s one I take to heart. As a pastor serving the Midtown Presbyterian Church, an educator at Grand Canyon University and a new father, I have paid close attention to the world in which we are raising our kids.
