iGen Loneliness: The Role of Smartphones and Social Media

By Hannah Berkel

The paradox of our most digitally connected generation also being our loneliest has increasingly captured the public’s attention and inspired leaders to take action - especially these past few weeks. Here in D.C, the Surgeon General has called on Congress to require social media platforms to feature warning labels that state the mental health risks associated with their use to protect youth and young adults. Over in Los Angeles, the school district has just passed a ban on using smartphones and social media during the school day. With each move receiving a mixed reaction, it’s worth taking a step back to unpack the research - and who better to learn from than social psychologist and smartphone generation expert, Dr. Jean Twenge?

Last fall, Dr. Twenge joined us as a keynote speaker at our Building Connected Communities conference, providing key insights into the experiences of iGen (AKA Gen Z) – the generation born between 1995 and 2012 and raised on smartphones and social media. Speaking to many of the concerns that parents have about social media and their kids, Dr. Twenge dispelled the notion that the internet is exposing youth to more inappropriate content. Her research shows that kids have always been exposed to age-inappropriate behavior, including underage smoking and drinking, and data indicates that teens are engaging in “adult” activities less now than ever before. However, her research has affirmed other concerns: teens are less independent, their peer and romantic relationships (key forms of social connection) are more delayed, and they are taking longer to settle into adult roles.?

A Massive Change in Trends

Around 2010-2012, Dr. Twenge noticed large, sudden changes in trends that would normally take a decade or two to occur. There was a sharp uptick in teens who reported feeling left out, lonely, like they couldn’t do anything right, that their life wasn’t useful, and they didn’t enjoy life. Why 2012? What happened? As Dr. Twenge pointed out, this was the first year the majority of Americans owned a smartphone - marking the fastest adoption of technology in human history.?

She went on to show how time online has more than doubled in the past 20 years, and the total time spent texting, online, and using social media adds up to an average of between 6-9 hours everyday. Meanwhile, teens are spending significantly less time with friends, even before the pandemic. People ages 15-25 spend an average of 37 minutes a day socializing, down over 20 minutes from the early 2000s. Adults ages 25 and up have also experienced a decline, but not as steep.?

The way teens and young adults spend their free time has fundamentally shifted. They are still interacting, but just now predominantly through screens. So, does it matter? Dr. Twenge suggested that it does. Looking at data collected from 10th graders, those who spend a lot of time on the internet are 45% more likely to report being unhappy.

Smartphones and Social Media: The Cause of Teen Loneliness and Depression?

According to Dr. Twenge and the data, use of smartphones and social media is a plausible explanation for the excess cases of loneliness and depression, given that the rise of smartphones and social media was the largest change in teens’ lives after 2012. However, she went on to clarify that they are not the cause of most cases of depression and loneliness, instead other causes such as genetics, trauma, bullying, abuse, poverty, and exclusion are still responsible. It is difficult to prove for sure that smartphones are the cause of the increase in depression and loneliness, but it is suspicious that they increased simultaneously as social media was introduced.?

WWDTD: What Would Dr. Twenge Do?

Based on her research, Dr. Twenge supports schools limiting the use of phones during class time. High school principals have shared that their lunch rooms are eerily quiet nowadays, due to students being on their phones rather than talking. By placing restrictions on when phones can be used in schools, she believes students will both benefit academically and socially.?

Her remarks didn’t explore a social media warning label specifically as a solution, so the jury is still out there. However, she did recommend pursuing policies that regulate social media. Dr. Twenge pointed out that the minimum age to join these platforms is currently 13, but kids younger than that have been able to sneak on – there is no verification process and no parental permissions. Something like New York State Governor Katchy Hochul’s recently signed bill to limit addictive social media feeds could be a step in the right direction for helping our younger teens. It not only gives parents the ability to block their children from getting social media posts suggested by a platform’s algorithm, but it also turns off notifications to minors between midnight and 6 AM.?

Dr. Twenge concluded her keynote with a silver lining - although the increase in loneliness and depression has coincided with the rise of smartphones and social media, they aren’t always bad and are not fully to blame. They can be great tools for us like a watch, map, health tracker – even a flashlight. “You can use it to light your way in a dark room so don’t trip,” said Dr. Twenge, “We need to find a way to use the smartphone to light our way, rather than darken it.”

Dr. Twenge’s full remarks can be viewed here.