[word-reader]

At least for me social media was hardly less "mandatory" in the halcyon years of the late 2000s, the thing to have was just Facebook on your computer and not Instagram, which is allegedly the worst type of social media for mental health. Smartphone adoption was clearly rising very fast in 2012-2013 [1] (unfortunately no breakdown by sex / age / income).

It is frustrating to see these issues blamed on "smartphones" at large and not particular usages (Instagram, Tinder, Twitter stand out). I suspect if everyone used their smartphones to read e-books, lookup recipes, text their friends and family, or even just play video games there wouldn't be such a problem.

[1] https://www.statista.com/statistics/201183/forecast-of-smart...

[rjf72]

I fully agree with you that certain uses are by far the worst, but something that smartphones in general have done is remove boredom. And I think there is a reasonable argument to be made that boredom is/was good for mental health, intellectual health, and potentially much more. For instance something my friends and I would do when we were bored kids was to play a sort of homebrew dungeons and dragons with one another, creating impromptu 'choose your own adventure' tales to each other. I'm certain such things were phenomenal for our mental development. Of course that boredom also at times led us to engage in some less wholesome ventures, but it's all part of growing up. But what about now a days? If we were bored and had phones instead we could just go turn on our phone and watch some funny videos, or go play a "free" video game.

I'm certain such arguments were probably made at the advent of radio, television, and other mass media. 'But this time its different!' No, really. The big difference now is that, even as an adult, I could browse YouTube for hours without ever getting bored. Television, radio, and all previous forms of entertainment were all much more limited in their dynamics and content, even with a gazillion channels, meaning boredom was inevitable and often sooner rather than later.

Alongside what's mentioned from this article, there is also now evidence of decreasing IQ in developed nations. And yes, that is after controlling for immigration and other obvious potential confounding factors. [1] This started in the mid 90s, just about the time the internet explosion started making boredom quickly become a thing of the past. What we're seeing in modern times: decreasing IQ, decreasing testosterone, decreasing fertility, increasing obesity, increasing depression, increasing anxiety. It's hard not to see a connection between these and the end of boredom.

[1] - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flynn_effect#Possible_end_of_p...