Graphic: 123rf
I’m writing this column in a busy café that’s surprisingly quiet. Most of us are absorbed in our screens, and the adults are just as fixated as teenagers.
Since the advent of the smartphone, discussions about its impact on mental health have deepened, particularly when it comes to young people. American social psychologist Dr Jonathan Haidt has highlighted worrying trends from 2012, including rising levels of anxiety and depression, especially among teenage girls. As he writes in his book, The Anxious Generation (2024), “This is the great irony of social media: the more you immerse yourself in it, the more lonely and depressed you become”.
