SPRINGFIELD, Missouri (KY3) – In a new book, the author recommends giving children little or no access to cell phones until age 16.

In the book The Anxious Generation, Jonathan Haidt writes that cell phones are hurting tweens and teens. At the same time that this book comes out, dozens of school districts are working to eliminate distractions by banning cell phone use during the day.

Dr. Jennifer Baker of Good Dads notes that with the increasing prevalence of Instagram, Facebook and other social media apps on mobile phones, she has observed an increase in anxiety and depression among girls.

“They tend to share their feelings more,” explains Dr. Jennifer Baker of Good Dads. “And so they might post something, and then if they don’t get a certain number of likes, they feel very ignored, they feel discouraged, they feel depressed, they feel anxious, do I have any friends?”

Dr Baker says boys are spending more time indoors and interacting less face-to-face with people. She agrees with the recommendation of a flip phone before age 16. This simple phone allows you to send text messages and make calls without accessing the internet.

You can watch the entire discussion on our digital streaming channels on Thursday, August 29th at 5:30 p.m. Our digital streaming is available on KY3.com by clicking on the Live Streaming tab above. The KY3 streaming app is also available on Roku, FireTV and AppleTV.

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