Little Rock panel discusses adolescent mental health issues

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — On Tuesday, the Little Rock Rotary Club met at the Clinton Center with one topic in mind: adolescent mental health.

The conversation stems from a book called “The Anxious Generation.” by psychologist Jonathan Haidt, who says smartphones and overprotective parents are to blame.

The panel included children's mental health therapist Stasia Myers alongside Ben Hopper, who works with a local youth group, and Steve Straessle, principal of the Catholic boys' high school.

During the meeting, Straessle discussed several negative consequences of phone use.

“It’s about social deprivation, lack of sleep, fragmentation of attention and addiction,” he explained.

Myers also explained how she saw evidence of this in her work as a therapist.

“The number one reason I get a phone call, whether it's a woman or a man, a child or a teenager, is anxiety,” Myers added.

So what are the solutions to this epidemic?

She suggested that parents limit smartphone use until their child turns sixteen and give them a flip phone instead.

Straessle said parents need to take responsibility and place their children in environments where they can grow.

“Parents protect their children from the outside world. They overprotect their children from the outside world but give them free access to the virtual world,” Straessle added.

“The Anxious Generation” has been making waves recently. It is currently number 2 on the New York Times nonfiction bestseller list.