(Note: I am sharing four articles this month based on my upcoming book, The Anxious Generation Goes to Church. These articles focus specifically on the harm smartphones do to our young people. All data and statistics in these articles are supported in the book. In this first article, I provide an overview of the issue. My subsequent three articles will look at specific issues in greater detail. My book will be released from Tyndale on August 19, 2025.)
I love my grandchildren. I worry about them too.
They’re growing up in homes filled with love, stability, and the gospel. They have two parents who are committed to each other and to raising their children with purpose. They have grandparents who dote on them, cheer for them, and pray over them. In short, they are blessed.
But even with these blessings, my grandkids are not immune to the challenges facing their generation. Like nearly every other young person today, they carry something in their pocket that may be harming them more than they realize.
The smartphone.
The Appendage
This ubiquitous device has become a cultural appendage. For Generation Z and Gen Alpha, the smartphone isn’t just a tool—it’s a lifestyle. And that lifestyle is quietly rewiring their brains, stealing their sleep, shrinking their confidence, and fueling a mental health crisis that cannot be ignored.
Let me be blunt. Smartphones are hurting our kids.
We first noticed the shift around 2010. Apple had released the first iPhone a few years prior, but it wasn’t until the iPhone 4—with its front-facing camera and social media compatibility—that things began to change rapidly. By 2013, most American households had a smartphone, and the rates of anxiety, depression, and self-harm among teenagers began to skyrocket.
Coincidence? Hardly.
The Turning Point
In his powerful book The Anxious Generation, Jonathan Haidt lays out the disturbing trends with clarity and compassion. He points to the smartphone era as a major turning point in the mental health of our youth. And the data backs him up.
From 2010 to 2020, major depression among boys rose by 161%. Among girls, it increased by 145%. Even more sobering, suicide attempts among girls surged 188%. These aren’t just numbers. These are lives—precious, valuable lives—caught in a digital trap they don’t know how to escape.
One reason the smartphone is so damaging is its ability to keep young people constantly connected—and constantly comparing. Social media platforms, turbocharged by smartphone access, have created a culture where worth is measured in likes, followers, and filtered images. For many teens, especially girls, their phone becomes a mirror that always whispers, “You’re not enough.”
The pressure to curate a perfect online persona leads to exhaustion, low self-esteem, and a fear of missing out. When their worth is tethered to digital affirmation, every missed like can feel like a rejection. Every scroll becomes a silent judgment.
But the damage isn’t just emotional. It’s physical too.
Smartphones are robbing our young people of sleep. The blue light from screens disrupts melatonin production, the hormone that regulates sleep. And since teens are already prone to irregular sleep patterns, the effect is amplified. Chronic sleep deprivation impairs memory, concentration, and decision-making. It also fuels mood disorders and increases the risk of depression.
Cyberbullying
And then there’s cyberbullying.
The smartphone has made bullying a 24/7 reality. Home is no longer a safe refuge. The mean words and cruel taunts follow kids into their bedrooms and through the night. Unlike schoolyard bullying, which ends with the final bell, cyberbullying is relentless—and often anonymous.
We now know that victims of cyberbullying are at significantly higher risk for anxiety, depression, and even suicidal thoughts. And yet, many parents remain unaware of just how deeply their child’s smartphone use is affecting their well-being.
Addiction and Privacy Lost
We haven’t even mentioned the addictive nature of smartphones. The never-ending stream of notifications, the dopamine hit from a new message or like, the endless scroll of content—these features aren’t accidental. They’re engineered for addiction.
As a result, physical activity among young people has declined. Screen time has replaced outdoor play. Face-to-face conversations have been traded for emojis and memes. Relationships are thinner. Attention spans are shorter. And bodies are paying the price.
Finally, there’s the issue of privacy. Our young people are growing up in a world where everything is shared—and nothing is truly forgotten. What they post today could resurface years later, shaping job opportunities, relationships, and reputations. They’re building a digital footprint they don’t yet understand, but one they will live with for the rest of their lives.
First Steps
So what do we do?
We must start by acknowledging the problem. Denial only delays healing. Then, we must educate parents, pastors, and church leaders to understand what’s really happening. This isn’t about being anti-technology. It’s about being pro-child.
We also need to help churches become part of the solution. What if the local church became the one place in a teenager’s life that wasn’t tethered to a screen? What if it became a refuge of real conversation, real connection, and real hope?
I still believe in the next generation. And I still believe in the local church. But both need help. And it starts by asking the hard question:
What have smartphones done to our young people?
The answer may be painful. But the response must be pastoral—and it must begin now.
Posted on June 2, 2025
With nearly 40 years of ministry experience, Thom Rainer has spent a lifetime committed to the growth and health of local churches across North America.
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12 Comments
Pastor: Excellent article. Thank you for addressing this EXTREMELY important issue in this piece and upcoming writing. Jonathan Haidt is rightly praised by calling attention to this set of problems. I was profoundly influence by The Anxious Generation, and I took action. I became a ScreenStrong Ambassador. I am qualified to make presentations to audiences of students, educators, parents, and grandparents, regarding the harms of screens and their addictive nature. Melanie Hempe, R.N. is someone with whom you need to speak. She founded ScreenStrong 10 years ago. She has been so eloquent in her writing, speaking, and podcasting. And the great thing about Melanie’s ministry is that she doesn’t just camp on the problems; she presents excellent common-sense solutions to these problems. She and ScreenStrong are not anti-screen; they are anti-screen addiction (girls to social media and boys to gaming and pornography). Melanie has published SEVERAL outstanding books on the subject, and she is ready to release a book for lower-elementary-aged students. I just saw the book for the first time today. Tremendous. I have since joined the ScreenStrong Board, and we are looking for ways to broaden the message to a larger audience — for the education of all impacted by screens. Just last week, Melanie and one of her sons were on “Fox and Friends” with Ainsley Earhardt. I’d love for you and Melanie to connect! If I can be of any assistance, please do not hesitate to contact me by e-mail or phone. Thank you for your consideration.”
I just finished listening to “The Anxious Generation” during a long drive last week. It wasn’t entirely a surprise, because I’d observed much of what he was saying. However, it was very helpful to here it put on to paper, I also very much appreciated his final chapters on how to respond to the problem.
The whole time I was thinking, “We really need a book that addresses this from a church stand-point.” I’m trying to think about what I can do with my Catechism class and youth group time to address these issues and make a better impact on our youth. I’m thinking about its implications upon worship, and what can I do to help our community as a whole. This is a very important conversation to be having. I’m looking forward to listening to this book on a future long drive.
Thanks so much for this article and will look forward to your upcoming book. Yesterday’s Sunday School Material from D6 Family Ministry covered this topic. I believe it is so important that we followed up last night (Sunday PM) with an open discussion on it and one of our church members uses Haidt’s book as a resource in her role as a middle school counselor. She covered a lot of these issues and we will attempt to finish next week. There’s more there than can be covered in two weeks in what has a become a daily routine of countless thousands of young people.
What format will your work have? Like 12 or 13 chapters that could be used in a church training service or Sunday School Elective? Workbook? Chapter discussions?
Thanks in advance and as a pastor, I have appreciated your work for years.
God bless.
Hi, my name is David. I am 79 years young and I appreciate your clear evaluation of the effect of Smartphones. Your focus is on younger members of society but Smartphones touch us all. Some of your stats are probably applicable, in some way to all of us who carry the world in our pocket/purse. Believers in Christ must pray and act in a fashion that regulates screen time for our most vulnerable. I recently engaged two young men in a face-to-face conversation on topics of interest to them. We talked until 3 am without any Smartphones. Their anxiety about life issues (family, girls, drugs, jobs, etc.) was evident as I listened. I offered some of my life experiences and my faith in God but mostly listened. When they departed they declared I was the wisest person they knew. The greatest of these is Love.
Love it! May your tribe increase, David.
Is the forefront of the issue concerning the church that they know if they ban smartphones in services, they’ll lose significant numbers of attendees to churches that won’t? Then it is about church growth? And what is church growth measured in, the number of attendees or the growth of believers who are the church? Deep, deep questions that need answers we may not want to hear. Thoughts?
Kermit,
That is a very real issue that I had considered in my last interim appointment. While part of me would want to ban cell phones in worship, I also realize that many people use a Bible app, Indeed, include me in that group. So, banning phones would be counter-productive, as you suggest. The issue, however, does need to be addressed – especially if church leaders are distracted by their phones (games, FB, texts, etc…) in worship.
The Anxious Generation primarily addresses the psychological threats that cellphones present to younger people. Perhaps that is where Thom will focus. But I am very interested in what he will say for the church at large.
Thanks, Bob. I address the church’s opportunity in the final two-thirds of the book.
Thom,
I’m glad you’re bringing this issue to light in this community. Hopefully, some of your readers will purchase and read the book. Truly alarming. Youth pastors, especially, should be informed by purchasing and reading it.
A friend of mine is a philosophy professor at a large Catholic university and has been teaching about this issue and ethical concerns surrounding AI for over a year. In this past semester, he bought alarm clocks for each of his students in one of his classes to support the helpful rule he suggested for teenagers and young adults: NO CELL PHONES IN THE BEDROOM.
Thanks again for this and upcoming relevant posts.
Thank you, Bob. I have seven of my grandchildren at the house. I was impressed that all of them left their smartphones in the kitchen without promptiong. Their parents do not let them get on social media, and they will likely not let them until they leave home. The grandkids also knew not to take their phones to bed.
Pastor:
Excellent article. Thank you for addressing this EXTREMELY important issue in this piece and upcoming writing. Jonathan Haidt is rightly praised by calling attention to this set of problems. I was profoundly influence by The Anxious Generation, and I took action. I became a ScreenStrong Ambassador. I am qualified to make presentations to audiences of students, educators, parents, and grandparents, regarding the harms of screens and their addictive nature. Melanie Hempe, R.N. is someone with whom you need to speak. She founded ScreenStrong 10 years ago. She has been so eloquent in her writing, speaking, and podcasting. And the great thing about Melanie’s ministry is that she doesn’t just camp on the problems; she presents excellent common-sense solutions to these problems. She and ScreenStrong are not anti-screen; they are anti-screen addiction (girls to social media and boys to gaming and pornography). Melanie has published SEVERAL outstanding books on the subject, and she is ready to release a book for lower-elementary-aged students. I just saw the book for the first time today. Tremendous. I have since joined the ScreenStrong Board, and we are looking for ways to broaden the message to a larger audience — for the education of all impacted by screens. Just last week, Melanie and one of her sons were on “Fox and Friends” with Ainsley Earhardt. I’d love for you and Melanie to connect! If I can be of any assistance, please do not hesitate to contact me by e-mail ([email protected]).
Thank you, Bob. Sounds like you and your friends are on on the cutting edge of this issue.