For the past 3 months, my most frequently-visited blog post has been my critique of Jean Twenge’s claims of a “narcissism epidemic” from 2013. Google tells me that it’s one of the top results in searches for “jean twenge criticism.” So in this post, I would like to share my views on her latest work.
I read her article for The Atlantic, “Have Smartphones Destroyed a Generation?” (an excerpt from her new book iGen), the day that it came out, because as a psychiatrist who works with adolescents, it’s clear to me that smartphones have been changing their lives in ways profound and subtle. I actually like many aspects of the article, including her sympathetic portrayal of the complexity that smartphones have brought into teenagers’ already complex lives. Also, I think she presents the data well, and the data sources that she uses are nationally representative surveys that have been around a long time and are well-respected. I think she makes a rather convincing case that many teens today are living their social lives online rather than hanging out with their friends in person.
However, I do have some criticisms of Twenge’s far-reaching claims about the effects of smartphones, but first, that ridiculous title:
The bubonic plague & WWI certainly destroyed some generations. Smartphones? 😂 Not so much. "Hampered", maybe. https://t.co/clZpBKFjJN— Psycritic (@psycrit) August 3, 2017
Thankfully, it seems the author agrees:
As is customary with these types of pieces, I did not write the headline. Not sure that is the word I would have chosen.— Jean Twenge (@jean_twenge) August 3, 2017
One criticism that others have voiced is that Twenge seems to draw conclusions based primarily on the correlation between the rise in smartphone use and increases in mental health issues in teens over the same span. While she acknowledges that many of the trends she highlights, such as adolescents taking longer to take on adult responsibilities, predate the introduction of smartphones, she sees the rising use of smartphones as some sort of inflection point. But there are so many other trends going on in our culture, including parents becoming more over-protective, rising political/racial/economic divides, etc., to pin the blame on smartphones seems overly facile. Heck, if I were being cheeky, I would point out that the sale of yoga pants has drastically increased since 2011, corresponding to increases in teen depression:
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| Source: Business Insider |
But just because they correlate does not mean that one has anything to do with the other.
Thus, my biggest criticism stems from Twenge’s seeming certainty about the decisive role of smartphones coupled with a seeming lack of curiosity about examining deeper causes for why these trends are happening. In a recent NY Times Magazine article about increasing rates of anxiety in teens, Twenge had this to say:
“The use of social media and smartphones look culpable for the increase in teen mental-health issues,” [Twenge] told me. “It’s enough for an arrest — and as we get more data, it might be enough for a conviction.”I’m sorry, but I think the situation is closer to her finding evidence of a crime, and possibly even a weapon, but she is nowhere near identifying—much less convicting—a suspect.
I find it vexing that Twenge seems to view each generation as a distinct and determinative entity, rather than some arbitrary line drawn by demographers, as she shows in this tweet:
That is just preposterous. She writes as though each generation somehow pops into existence with its own innate characteristics, rather than being influenced by—and reacting to—the generations that have come before. However, one of the few things I know for sure is the huge extent to which young people are influenced by their elders. For example, this recent article (also in The Atlantic, lol) highlighted just how much even 1-year-old infants learn from observing the actions of the adults around them. And what are kids observing these days?They don't look mad! Sure, send some questions via e-mail. Also: If they are 22 or less, they're iGen -- so GenMe might not apply as much.— Jean Twenge (@jean_twenge) October 10, 2017
In my own practice, I often hear from kids and teens who say that their parents are on their laptops checking work email or on their phones checking Facebook all the time. These kids are bored and lonely, so as soon as they have access to a smart device, what do they do? Twenge’s work makes it easy for parents to blame the devices and not think about how their own actions may be influencing their children. While that may protect parents’ egos and sell more books, it’s a very incomplete and misleading picture, to say the least.
I have not yet read Twenge’s new book, but I was hoping that it would take a deeper look at the culture as a whole, especially the critical role that parents can play in changing the situation. However, one look at the book’s table of contents reveals that only the last 26 pages are devoted to a chapter on “Understanding—and Saving—iGen”. This scathing review from NY Mag further breaks down the book and the motivations of the author. The reviewer takes the view that Twenge is less a scholar who investigates all aspects of a complex issue than she is someone positioning herself as a guru for marketers looking to understand the latest generation of teens.
In conclusion, while there certainly is a mental health crisis going on in today’s teens (and adults!) and pinning the blame on smartphones is understandable, I believe it will take far more than getting rid of everyone’s favorite devices to make our culture healthier for future generations.
