Smartphones and social media causing decline in cognition and attention span, psychologist warns

Jonathan Haidt, a social psychologist and professor at New York University, recently delivered a stark warning at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology regarding the societal impacts of modern digital technology. Speaking at MIT Compton Lecture, Haidt argued that the widespread adoption of smartphones and social media over the past decade is rapidly accelerating a decline in human competency by severely diminishing global attention capacity, cognitive abilities, and overall happiness.

While much of his previous research focused on the anxiety and depression that constant connectivity causes in young people, Haidt emphasized that the core issue now affects nearly all age groups: the profound destruction of our ability to maintain focus. He claimed that introducing internet-connected devices into classrooms has been a catastrophic mistake for the American education system, effectively erasing 50 years of academic progress. With some students increasingly unable to read books or sit through films, Haidt warned that humanity is losing its fundamental capacity to stay on task.

Fifty years of progress in education, 50 years of progress, up in smoke, gone. We’re back to where we were 50 years ago. That’s pretty big, that’s pretty serious. — Haidt.

Beyond individual cognition, Haidt pointed to data showing a global reduction in democratic stability since the 2010s, which he links to online misinformation and digital division. Furthermore, he speculated that the rapid emergence of artificial intelligence will likely worsen these intellectual and psychological issues rather than improve authentic human interaction.

Despite the grim outlook, Haidt stressed that society has the power to reverse these trends through deliberate human agency. He advocated for a broad cultural shift away from our infatuation with new technology and proposed practical reforms, including keeping smartphones away from children before high school, restricting social media access until age sixteen, and establishing strictly phone-free school environments. Pointing to recent legislative bans on youth social media in countries like Australia, Haidt expressed optimism that a growing global backlash against tech companies proves society can still reclaim its attention and civic fabric.