Sarah Huckabee Sanders Against Smartphones

Sarah Huckabee Sanders, governor of Arkansas, appears uncowed by Big Tech. Inspired by Jonathan Haidt’s new book Anxious Generation (which I reviewed favorably in American Affairs), on May 6, Sanders sent a letter to her fellow governors in all fifty states, exhorting them to “work together” in rescuing America’s children from the “dark sewer of social media and screen addiction.” The governor also forwarded copies of Anxious Generation, and highlighted its final chapter, where Haidt lays out a legislative agenda to get kids off of smartphones and social media. Sanders summarizes it thusly: 

1. No smartphones before high school. 
2. No social media before sixteen. 
3. Phone-free schools. 
4. More outdoor play and childhood independence. 

“It’s an agenda I plan to pursue,” she said, “and I hope you read this book and join me.” 

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