My response to the New Yorker article, "Can we get kids off smartphones?" by Jessica winter

I wouldn’t say smartphones are dangerous, but I would say depending on the uses, they can be harmful in ways. I say this because if used for just connection and necessities, phones are not a dangerous or harmful thing. On the other hand, if you use your phone for entertainment, which I must confess I am guilty of, it can be harmful. Like the article said, ”By the time that smartphones  and social media were becoming omnipresent, in the late two thousands and early twenty-tens, children were also spending less and less time engaged in unstructured, largely unsupervised play with their peers.” I believe less engagement with peers in the real world actually doing things can lead to a decrease in physical and mental health and even social skills. A decrease in social skills can cause an increase in anxiety when in a social environment. I say this from experience., I get anxious in big crowds especially aroundof people I don’t know. So to circle back to the question depending on the use, phones could possibly be harmful to kids, young adults and even adults.

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