Teens and Technology: Few Simple Answers

Have smartphones destroyed a generation?

Jean Twenge of San Diego State University asked this question in a widely-discussed article in the September 2017 edition of The Atlantic. She concludes that teens are on the verge of a mental health crisis due to the constant presence of these devices, which have been shown to have negative effects on well-being.

However, Howard Gardner has responded to this argument with colleagues Katie Davis and Emily Weinstein in a piece on Medium.

Davis, Weinstein, and Gardner warn that it is difficult to generalize an entire generation's experience. Based on their research, they argue that the impacts of technology on teens are complex and not uniform. We should therefore be wary of oversimplified narratives or prescriptions for this perceived crisis.

Click here to read the response in full.

(A shorter version of this response was published by The Atlantic in October 2017.)