The Terrible Costs of a Phone-Based Childhood
An essay on what a phone-based childhood is doing to adolescent development and mental health.
Essays
I publish most of my non-academic writing at my substack, After Babel, and at The Atlantic, where I am a contributing writer. Below are some of my major essays since 2015,
Essays
Selected essays and commentary.
Essay / The Free Press / 2026
Why the World Is Drawing a Line on Social Media for Kids
Essay / The New York Times / 2025
The Movement to Reclaim Childhood Is Just Getting Started
Op-ed / The Sydney Morning Herald / 2025
Kids can still use social media — they just can't sign their lives away to tech giants
Essay / Politico / 2025
There's Only One True Bipartisan Issue Left
Essay / The Free Press / 2025
Taking Back Childhood from Phones
Essay / The Atlantic / 2025
What Kids Told Us About How to Get Them Off Their Phones
Essay / The New York Times / 2025
The Smartphones Haven't Defeated Us. Yet.
Essay / After Babel / 2025
TikTok is harming children at an industrial scale
Essay / The New York Times / 2024
Gen Z Has Regrets
Essay / The Atlantic / 2024
Social-Media Companies' Worst Argument
Essay / The Atlantic / 2023
Get Phones Out of Schools Now
Essay / The Atlantic / 2022
Why the Past 10 Years of American Life Have Been Uniquely Stupid
Essay / The Atlantic / 2015
The Coddling of the American Mind