Psychologist Peter Gray Blames School Stress, Not Phones, for Teen Mental Health Crisis
Gray, a co-author of the very book that popularized the smartphone blame, now publicly reverses his position, potentially reshaping the debate over technology's role in youth mental health.
Reporting from 1 source: GIGAZINE.
Psychologist Peter Gray argues that the main cause of the adolescent mental health crisis is school-related stress, not social media. He challenges the thesis of his former collaborator Jonathan Haidt, whose book 'The Anxious Generation' blamed smartphones. Gray's new book, 'Restoring Childhood,' is set to release.
Peter Gray, the psychologist who co-founded the nonprofit Let Grow with Jonathan Haidt and co-authored the 2023 bestseller 'The Anxious Generation,' now says that book had it wrong. In a new essay for The Atlantic, Gray argues that the real driver of the teen mental health crisis is not smartphones but the relentless pressure to achieve good grades in school. He points to the narrowing of education under the Common Core standards and the loss of unstructured play as the true culprits.
Gray's upcoming book, 'Restoring Childhood: How to Set Kids Free in the Age of Anxiety,' is framed as a direct counter to Haidt's thesis. Gray warns that reflexive calls to ban phones and social media only further restrict children's autonomy, which he believes is the actual cause of their distress. The rift between the two longtime collaborators marks a significant split in the public conversation about what harms kids today.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 1 cited source below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.