I’m so mixed on that book. Lot of great info in it, some good thoughts on child development. But soooo much moral panic under the guise of science. The data used is fundamentally unable to establish a causal link.
Yes putting real life focus on children and relationships is a great thing for child development. So I guess a book furthering a moral panic to do so, while purporting to be above moral panic isn’t fundamentally evil.
I’m worried it helps create a boogeyman, though, and the children it seeks to help are being harmed by the backdrop of the existential crises of our time like global warming, the authoritarian wave, etc, and social media / phones is just the most convenient vector through which this all flows.
This piece was written by a highly-regarded scifi author a year and a half ago. I say that not to complain about the age but rather to marvel at the authors ability to describe so well something that is only becoming clear to many a year and half later.