Every generation of parents seems convinced that the gadgets or entertainment of the moment are corrupting their children. Today, smartphones and social media stand trial. Politicians want bans, schools are rushing into restrictions, and bestselling authors like Jonathan Haidt warn of catastrophic consequences. It all feels familiar—because we’ve been here before.
When my parents were growing up, the panic was about comic books. In the 1950s, lawmakers and school boards insisted that illustrated stories about superheroes and monsters were turning kids into delinquents. Senate hearings were held. Moralists testified that comic books were “a substantial cause of juvenile crime.” At one point, serious adults even suggested outlawing them altogether【1】. History proved them wrong. Those comic-reading kids grew up to become responsible adults, and their comics are now collectors’ items, not criminal evidence.
Fast forward to the 1970s and 1980s, and the new menace was rock music. Politicians, religious leaders, and even the vice president’s wife claimed that heavy metal and suggestive lyrics were poisoning the minds of America’s youth. Rock stars like Ozzy Osbourne were hauled into court, accused of driving children to suicide【2】. The absurdity of blaming a guitar riff for tragedy didn’t stop lawmakers from proposing new regulations. Dee Snider of Twisted Sister famously testified before Congress, reminding them that the government had no right to police music【3】. And just like with comic books, the panic fizzled, while the music industry thrived.
Then came the 1990s, when video games were the alleged destroyer of childhood. Remember the hysteria over Mortal Kombat and Doom? Politicians lined up at microphones to warn parents that violent games were creating a generation of aggressive bullies and future killers. Studies were cherry-picked to back up these claims, even as overall youth crime rates were falling【4】. Decades later, extensive research shows little to no connection between video games and real-world violence. In fact, some studies suggest that mass shooters actually played fewer violent games than the average teen【5】.
And now we arrive at the smartphone. The narrative is eerily familiar: declining attention spans, rising depression, less exercise, fewer face-to-face friendships. It’s the same formula of fear. Yes, smartphones change behavior. Of course they do. So did television, the Walkman, and instant messaging. The question is whether those changes are inherently destructive—or just different.
Psychologist Chris Ferguson, who reviewed Jonathan Haidt’s book, calls the current smartphone scare another “moral panic.” He points out that today’s kids are actually doing many things better than previous generations: less smoking, less drinking, fewer drugs, less violence, more volunteering, more school completion【6】. But we rarely hear about that. Instead, we seize on bad news and assume a single culprit—the device in their pocket.
It’s worth asking: what if the story is more complicated? In Europe, suicide rates among teens actually dropped as smartphone use spread【7】. That doesn’t fit the doomsday narrative. And if American teens are struggling more with anxiety, maybe we should look at the messages we feed them—telling them the world is irredeemably racist, sexist, or oppressive—rather than blaming a glowing screen.
None of this is to say that smartphones are harmless. Kids who spend every waking moment scrolling TikTok instead of sleeping or exercising are clearly missing out. But legislating phones out of their hands, as some politicians suggest, is likely to create more problems than it solves. Already, schools that ban phones end up suspending kids for violations, doing far more long-term harm than a few extra minutes on Instagram【8】.
There are also smarter, less heavy-handed solutions. Parents today can block social media IP addresses or domains at the Wi-Fi router level. It’s not perfect—kids will find ways around restrictions—but it’s a far more practical, flexible, and family-driven approach than sweeping government bans. It gives parents tools without giving politicians another excuse to meddle in family life.
The truth is, every wave of panic has followed the same pattern: adults terrified of change, experts summoned to predict doom, politicians eager to score points, and eventually, the realization that kids are more resilient than we give them credit for. Smartphones are no different.
Fifteen years from now, we’ll almost certainly be fretting about some new technology—neural implants, holographic social lives, or whatever Silicon Valley cooks up next. And we’ll shake our heads at how worried we once were about the little rectangles in our pockets.
The lesson is simple: before we panic, let’s remember our history. Comic books didn’t ruin a generation. Neither did rock music or video games. Smartphones won’t, either.
Endnotes
- Senate Subcommittee on Juvenile Delinquency Hearings on Comic Books, 1954.
- McCollum v. CBS, Inc., 1988, lawsuit against Ozzy Osbourne.
- Dee Snider testimony before the U.S. Senate, 1985 PMRC hearings.
- Anderson & Dill, “Video Games and Aggressive Thoughts, Feelings, and Behavior,” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (2000).
- Ferguson, C.J., “Do Angry Birds Make for Angry Children?” Perspectives on Psychological Science (2015).
- Monitoring the Future Study, University of Michigan, annual youth survey results.
- The Lancet, “International Trends in Youth Suicide Rates,” 2019.
- Stossel TV Transcript: “Are Smartphones Killing Kids?” (2024).
Carol Hughes is a contributor for Direct Line News. She can be reached at Carol.Hughes@mcgopclub.com
Direct Line News is a Maryland-based free-access publication committed to the Republican reform tradition.
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