Martin Singh-Blom

Here is the most dramatic real-world test of The Anxious Generation yet done by any journalist. @DeccaJourno of @thetimes is the only journalist who got both halves of the book. She arranged for UK teens to give up their smartphones, as many others have done. But she did it for a month (not a week), and she did it with a GROUP of friends (not just a few random individuals), AND she added on a phone-free and adult-free camping trip. (I don't know how she got that past the lawyers; it could not have been done in the USA.) The result was a joyous demonstration of what happens when a GROUP of friends opts out of the phone-based childhood, together, and what happens when adults give them the chance to do something adventurous, on their own. I just heard Decca's son (one of the participants) say, on a radio show, that the camping trip gave him "one of the best nights of my year, maybe of my life." The essay offers complete vindication for @FreeRangeKids and @LetGrowOrg. It shows parents how they can restore a real-world childhood, IF they do it together, with a few other families. It offers a vivid illustration of our mission, at anxiousgeneration.com/ to reclaim childhood in the real world. Join us. Here's a link to the article. Thanks to @thetimes for making the essay available without a paywall, at least for those in the USA (I think). thetimes.com/life-style/pare…