GoKawiilTech parents increasingly shield children from smartphones and social media
A tech-industry writer describes how growing awareness of social media's harms—cyberbullying, body dysmorphia, and related mental health issues seen firsthand through his wife's pediatric nursing work—led his family to restrict their children to flip phones and keep them off platforms like TikTok. He notes this reflects a broader trend among tech workers and public figures, coinciding with rising cultural pushback including Jonathan Haidt's book, national social media bans in countries like Australia, and a US Supreme Court ruling upholding age-verification laws.
GoKawiil's interpretation of the reporting above, not reported fact.
The essay captures a growing contradiction: people who build and profit from technology are often the most cautious about exposing their own children to it, suggesting insider knowledge of its risks. This grassroots and now legislative pushback—spanning book bans on devices in schools to international social media age restrictions—signals a broader societal reckoning with how children's use of technology should be governed as AI further embeds itself into daily life.
- Tech industry insiders, including the author, are limiting their children's smartphone and social media use.
- Global regulatory momentum is growing, with countries like Australia banning social media for under-16s and the US Supreme Court upholding age-verification laws.
- Cultural shifts include school iPad bans and renewed interest among children in older technology like vintage Walkmans.
The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt — The article cites Haidt's bestseller as the book that pushed kids-and-smartphones worries into the mainstream, so it's the obvious read for any parent wrestling with flip phones vs. TikTok. It lays out his case about childhood, screens, and social media in one place so you can judge the argument—and the criticism of it—for yourself.
See The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt on Amazon → Affiliate link — we may earn a commission on purchases, at no extra cost to you. Product picked by AI based on this article; it is not a tested recommendation.Source: technologyreview.com — Mat Honan, 2026-08-26
Published there as: “Raised on AI”
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