Are smart phones making our kids sick?
Join me in my interview withJoanna Bertken, student assistance coordinator and school psychologist for the Bozeman School District,
Johanna Bertken is a Nationally Credentialed School Psychologist and Student Assistance Coordinator for Bozeman Public Schools. She focuses on student mental health, bullying, violence, suicide, and substance use. Recently, she worked with the district’s Wellbeing Committee to assess local trends in depression and anxiety and develop strategies to support students. One key recommendation from the committee is a district-wide shift to entirely cell-phone-free schools from K-12.
Today, Joanna explains how smartphone use is directly linked to alarming increases in teen anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideation since 2010.
In this episode, we mention the Wait Till 8th Campaign: https://www.waituntil8th.org/
Key Highlights from Today's Episode Include:
• Cell phones and social media target dopamine systems through intermittent reinforcement schedules similar to gambling addiction.
• Teenagers average 7 hours and 22 minutes daily on phones – equivalent to a full-time job.
• we are drastically underestimating the risks online, while overestimating the risks of free-play
• Major depression has increased 145% among teen girls and 161% among boys since 2010.
• Algorithms deliver gender-specific harmful content: violence for boys, appearance-based content for girls.
• Wait Until 8th campaign helps parents connect with others delaying smartphone access.
• Many teens themselves want adults to establish boundaries they struggle to set themselves.
• Parents should consider alternatives like limited-function watches instead of smartphones.
• Replace "phones" with "cigarettes" in conversations to recognize how abnormal our permissiveness has become!
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