Are the Kids All Right? Not Really...
May 24, 2024
My husband and I grew up in the “ancient 1900s,” before the dawn of the internet, but were early adopters of new forms of tech as teenagers and young adults. Luckily, we graduated college before social media became mainstream. Apparently, we dodged a bullet. As Jonathan Haidt highlights in his book The Anxious Generation, "Excessive screen time and unregulated online environments are among the most significant contributors to the rising levels of anxiety and depression among our youth."
Those rising levels of anxiety and depression are rapidly becoming a national crisis, and not enough people are moving to address the threat “excessive screen time and unregulated online environments” pose to young people’s well-being. The Institute for Family Studies (IFS) and the Ethics and Public Policy Center (EPCC) are working to remedy that, in collaboration with state policymakers, by enacting legislation and policies to protect youths online and in schools. In support of these efforts, on May 20th, they received the $100,000 prestigious Heritage Innovation Prize.
