LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — On Tuesday, the Little Rock Rotary Club met at the Clinton Center with one topic in mind—teenage mental health.
The conversation stemmed from a book called "The Anxious Generation" by psychologist Jonathan Haidt, which claims that smartphones and overprotective parents are to blame.
The panel included child mental health therapist, Stasia Myers, alongside Ben Hopper, who works with a local young life group, and Steve Straessle, the head of Catholic High School for Boys.
During the meeting, Straessle named several negative consequences of phone use.
"It's social deprivation, sleep deprivation, attention fragmentation, and addiction,” he explained.
Myers also explained how she’s seen evidence of this in her work as a therapist.
"The number one thing that I get a phone call for, whether it's a female or male, child or adolescent, is anxiety,” Myers added.
So what are the solutions to this epidemic?
She suggested that parents should limit smartphone usage until a child turns sixteen and give them a flip phone instead.
Straessle said parents need to take responsibility and put their kids in environments where they can grow.
"Parents are protecting their kids from the outside world. Overprotecting kids from the outside world but giving them free access to the virtual world,” Straessle added.
"The Anxious Generation" has made waves recently. It’s currently number 2 on the New York Times nonfiction bestseller list.