New data in @financialtimes this week points to what I’ve been calling #theattentionapocalypse. These are young people’s self-assessments, not anyone speaking on their behalf.
Young people say they increasingly struggle to make plans and follow through on them. They feel distracted, careless. They feel less outgoing and talkative. They feel less helpful and trusting, and more argumentative.
#Conscientiousness and #neutoriticism as personality traits are highly predictive of career success, divorce and mortality. Highly conscientious people (reliable, disciplined) have the best life outcomes. They live the longest and succeed at work. Their relationships last.
This report is astonishing, and it mirrors my research in #theanxiousgeneration. #GenZ is different, in ways we as a society must work to change. This includes everything from #thefournorms I propose in the book (delaying smartphones & social media, #phonefreeschools, and more IRL, embodied experiences) to better infrastructure to support in-person activities for all ages.
Since infrastructure takes years, if not decades, to change, the best place to start is our own homes. Limit your own social media and screen time. Try *not* to fill interstitial moments with screens. Resist the endless scroll. Most of all, if you have kids, limit touch-screen devices and insist on reading, real-life unstructured play, longer stories (family movies are fine on non-touch-screen devices), and other activities that foster slow dopamine.
Join the other parents and organizations committed to this work at anxiousgeneration.com/join. Let’s do this, together."
Additional charts from the study can be found ->
