I recently read the book The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt. In it, he lays out a case that the increase of anxiety and depression in young people aligns with the increase in access to technology. He says that the “play-based childhood” has essentially been wiped out by the arrival of the “phone-based childhood.”
While I don’t think we can fully “blame” technology for the issues facing our kids, it seems clear that factors like social media algorithms promoting unrealistic standards, cyberbullying, excessive screen time disrupting sleep and the exposure to negative or misleading information have a critical impact on teen mental health.
For me, I'm most concerned about our teens who are feeling more and more isolated and don’t know where to turn for genuine connection and support. The digital world offers constant interaction, yet many kids and teens struggle with deep, meaningful relationships.
That is one area where I know our Y is ahead of the game.
Last month, I dropped by the Northwest Cary YMCA. I walked into the gym and counted 31 teenagers playing basketball. I didn’t see one phone. Impressive.
I looked at my watch, it was 3:58 p.m.
As I continued my walk about, I counted 42 teens on the weight room floor. Many were clustered in groups of 2 – 5, laughing, talking and spotting each other with weights I could never dream of lifting. Again, no phones.
I quickly walked through the after-school program on the other side of the building. There were 10 middle school kids standing in a circle playing a game and I counted nine of our young staff members working in the program.
Total teens: 92.
Total cell phones: 1 (and it was a staff member Googling questions for a trivia game with the kids).
I know these moments of genuine connection and active teen engagement are happening all over the Association. Through activities like Teen Takeovers and teen-focused pickleball/spikeball tournaments and book clubs, there are so many amazing events planned with the goal of centering teens and giving them the space to belong.
Two of our biggest teen events are right around the corner!
The North Carolina YMCA Youth & Government Legislative Conference is Feb. 13 – 16 in downtown Raleigh and will have 1,000 teens from across the state on hand to hold sessions, debate bills, hear cases and elect new officers with the goal of experiencing the governmental process firsthand through a youth-run and youth-led model.
In late March, our Lightner Y Achievers teens will take a tour of colleges in and around Greensboro. Each year, LYA teens take a week-long journey to surrounding cities and states to explore higher education options through campus tours, engaging sessions and meetings with students and faculty.
I say this about so many populations, but the YMCA is uniquely positioned to directly impact kids and teens with opportunities to play and learn and grow – both with technology and without.
What other organization is poised to do that work as effectively?
