Phoney problem?

Two hundred years ago, a miracle began. At that time just 12% of adults around the world could read and write. By 1950 it was 56%. Then the figure rose by 5 points every single decade until in 2015, 86% of adults globally were literateAble to read and write. .¹

But in the last decade, something astonishing has happened. Young people's reading abilities have come down across the board and across the world.

In the same time period, students' mental health plummeted. Loneliness, anxietyA feeling of unease or worry. It can be mild or very severe. and depressionLow mood that affects someone's daily life, and can last for weeks or months. are all at record highs.

And the problems are continuing down the line. Statistics suggest that people raised in this kind of environment are less ambitious and more risk-averse.² They are less likely to have a romantic partner and to move out of their parents' home.³

What is the culprit? More and more experts are pointing the finger at phones.

In past decades, children did a lot of their learning by experimentation. They would spend much of their early lives running around outside, finding out which trees are climbable and which plants are painful.

This made them confident with risk-taking, because when things went wrong, they could see it was not the end of the world.

In contrast, more recent generations are likely to spend most of that time alone with a phone. They have most likely been marketed addictive social media sites that keep them engaged but teach them nothing about the world. They never have any incentive to take a risk.

As for literacy rates, many believe phones reduce our attention span, making it harder for us to focus on things like reading. In the UK just two in five young people report they enjoy reading for pleasure.⁴

That is why some think the only way of saving our youth is to do away with phones. Polling shows nearly two-thirds of Britons would ban sales of smartphones to under-16s.⁵

Others, however, think we cannot put the clock back. They say it is not so much about phones per se, but about the information we are bombarded with. And that is coming from everywhere: screens are plastered all over.

What is more, they say, young people's lives are just too intertwined with phones for us to be able to get rid of them. They do not only use them for messaging and social media, but for timers in school tasks, timetables, homework and medication reminders.

Instead, they argue, we need to find some way of adapting to a high-information future.

Still others are unconvinced that phones are to blame. They point out the last ten years have been a tumultuous time.

Living standards have fallen dramatically. As of last year, 29% of all UK children were in poverty.⁶ Research shows that children without financial security suffer more from mental health issues and are less likely to be able to spend time reading.

And the pandemic affected many people's social and learning skills. It may take years to claw them back.

So rather than fixate on phones, they say, we should work to make children's lives better in general.

Can we turn back time?

Yes: Imposing phones on our children was a choice; withholding them can be too. Even if it causes temporary difficulties it is better in the long run to teach them to live independent lives.

No: Young people use phones for all kinds of reasons. A blanket ban simply cannot account for all the ways in which their lives would be affected. It is time to stop patronising students.

Or... We might be barking up the wrong tree. Young people's mental health, willingness to take risks and learning skills will not improve if we get rid of phones but do not help them live happier lives.