Young parents want Nokia back

If you ever see a cucumber water-sipping girl chatting with a pink-haired woman in her 30s, it’s probably me and my hairdresser talking about the challenges of raising kids in today’s crazy world. 😩

My hairdresser has done something rare. Her three sons aged 8-10 don’t have phones. Nor do they have iPads or access to any technology other than a shared computer in their living room. 

Rather than honing their social skills online (calling randomly assigned strangers the c-word while playing Warzone), they torment their mother the old-fashioned way: by digging holes in their front lawn.

Even though the holes are so shockingly profound her lawn will never amount to anything other than brown sludge, she prefers it. “At least they’re working towards a greater cause,” she sighs, snipping away at my fringe. 💇

I don’t have kids, so the idea of being a parent in today’s media, cultural, and political climate feels like a never-ending bit by The Onion. And for good reason.

Parenting is objectively harder now

US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy gave an official warning that parents’ stress levels are now a public health issue. Almost 50% of parents reported overwhelming stress levels most days, double that of other adults. 

There’s been a huge decline in unsupervised outdoor play time since the 1970s. Parents, especially moms, spend more time actively managing their kids’ play time (i.e. doing activities alongside them) than ever before.

It’s probably because parents are obsessed with ensuring kids fully develop their frontal lobes. Ideally, before their peers, so they can secure early entry to MIT by age 11.

Ironically, you’ll note that when kids aren’t doing homework or extracurriculars, they’re brain-rotting online. I fear Ivy Leagues may start screening applicants with these tests. 😪

Gen Z think phones are the problem

If you’re in your 20s and don’t have kids, I am confident you’ve made at least one of the following claims:

💬 I’m never letting my kids have social media

💬 All they’re getting is a flip phone

💬 It’s Elon Musk’s world and we’re just living in it

The Economist noted a surge in demand for ‘dumb phones’. As Zillennials enter child-rearing ages, we reflect on what it was like being the first generation raised by the internet. 

Despite the warm and fuzzy memories of learning human anatomy from strangers on Omegle, giving 13-year-olds eating disorders on ask.fm, and questioning our sexuality on Tumblr (Harry Potter erotica anyone??), many of us are intimately familiar with how toxic the internet can be. And we want to protect our future children from it.

In fact, we polled some of our Gen Z followers to hear their takes. And they were… interesting.

So what?

💡 For marketers & builders

• TLDR… There is a growing backlash against technology and social media, especially for kids.

• Ask yourself… What would a product that gradually exposes kids to the internet look like?

• Check this out… Brick has gotten a lot of publicity for turning smartphones into ‘dumb phones’. I’m not convinced it will take off, but it’s worth noting the hype it’s gotten.

🫂 For parents & advocates

• TLDR… Parents increasingly recognize the need for phone-free environments both in and outside schools.

• Ask yourself… If reducing screen time is a collective action problem (i.e. it’s more effective the more people who do it), can you team up with other families to create phone-free micro-communities?

• Check this out… Jonathan Haidt’s The Anxious Generation.

🤳 For Gen Z

• TLDR… Your peers have mixed feelings about growing up online.

• Ask yourself… When or if you have kids, at what age would you let them have a smartphone?

• Check this out… Watch the coming-of-age classic Captain Fantastic about kids who grow up off the grid.

– Your Internet Translator