A generation who came of age online now feel deprived of real connections. The upside is they are doing something about itIt’s the love-hate relationship that defined a generation. We think we know all about teenagers and the phones to which they’re so umbilically tied: sleeping with them under the pillow, panicking at the prospect of ever being denied wifi, so glued to the screen that they’re oblivious to the world unfolding around them. Yet the first generation to have never really known a life without social media – the drug that primarily keeps them coming back to their phones for more – is now grown up enough to reflect on what it may have done to them, and the answers are almost enough to break your heart.Two-thirds of 16- to 24-year-olds think social media does more harm than good and three-quarters want tougher regulation to protect younger people from it, according to polling for the New Britain Project, a thinktank founded by a former teacher, Anna McShane. Half think they...
Gen Z, the first generation to grow up with social media, is now reflecting on its negative impact. Studies show many regret the time spent online and want stricter regulations. While awaiting government action, Gen Z is proactively changing their habits and want to limit their own children’s screen time.