How to Money · Wednesday, July 8, 2026
While technology has historically offered labor-saving devices and connectivity, its modern iteration, particularly smartphones and social media, presents a double-edged sword. Dr. Jean Twenge highlights how these tools can both enhance productivity and negatively impact mental health, especially among younger generations, by replacing face-to-face interaction and creating pressure for online validation.
“So if you kind of step back and think about it in terms of, you know, what should you do? You know, for people of different ages, and this is relevant to you know, listeners have children as well. Let's protect kids and teens as long as we possibly can, just put it off, like no social media until sixteen would be fantastic, and I and many other people are starting to advocate for that, you know, in terms of policy change.”
“Because the problem is you need to hand the kid's a smartphone. Okay, maybe you try to put parental controls on it and stuff. But I hear stories all the time very enterprising eleven year olds who find workarounds.”
“So technology can be really cool, it can fuel a lot of productivity, or it can suck it dry.”