Smartphones and Anxiety: Professor Cal Newport

Smartphones have so many people in a grip, and the mental health cost is profound. In this episode, professor Cal Newport - author of Deep Work and Digital Minimalism - sounds a warning. He talks about the work of Jean Twenge, a generational researcher in the US. Her research revealed the profound impact that smartphones had on the wellbeing and mental health of the first generation of students that went to high school with both a smartphone and a social media account - known as IGen.

Recent mental health research here in the UK is particularly eye catching. A quarter of young people aged 17-19 are experiencing mental health problem, a statistic described as “deeply worrying” by Mind, mental health charity. The role of smartphones and digital cannot be underestimated. As well as the comparative element of social media, it’s also the neverending stimulation that phones provide. For the first time eve we never have to be bored, which means people’s brains are continually being stimulated. Cal Newport says it is time to heed the warning.

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