On Religion

Jonathan Haidt

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A Catholic parish dared to discuss smartphones – on Sunday, after Mass (Part II)

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A Catholic parish dared to discuss smartphones -- on Sunday, after Mass (Part II)

Professionals who sell technology are used to events in which they display their goods and explain why they are important.

But the scene was different at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Catholic Church in Carmel, Indiana, on a Sunday a few weeks before Christmas. After each Mass, the faithful could enter the parish hall and meet representatives of companies that sell "dumb phones," mobile devices without unlimited access to the Internet.

Most active Catholic parents have already been exposed to the national debates about smartphones on the mental health of young children and teens, said parishioner Lauren Clark, who helped organize the event. The question is whether churches should get involved.

"Lots of parents are on board … but they don't know what they can do," she said, reached by telephone. "They still feel like they need – thinking about safety – some way to keep in touch with their kids."

Parents also worry about arguing with their children, or other parents, about these decisions. And while they worry about the impact of smartphones on their children, they worry about what will happen if their children unplug from the digital culture of their peers.

"Parents know that social media is more dangerous than the technology itself," said Clark. "But if kids have that smartphone, there's really no way to keep them off social media. It's a critical mass situation. ...

"You get them that smartphone to avoid conflict. But when you open that door, you're going to face many other conflicts. Can I get Instagram? Can I get on TikTok? That smartphone is not a neutral object. It's a tool."

Religious groups need to get involved, said the researcher at the heart of these debates. Jonathan Haidt of New York University, author of "The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness," is a self-avowed Jewish atheist. Nevertheless, he has found that Orthodox Jewish educators are the leaders most willing to work with him.

Orthodox Jews know they will clash with the culture around them, he said, in an interview this past fall. Other religious leaders need to face that reality.

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Why are most clergy timid about smartphone wars? They fear offending parents

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Why are most clergy timid about smartphone wars? They fear offending parents

As the star of the scathing documentary "Religulous" – "religious" plus "ridiculous" – Bill Maher has never hidden his agnostic views about faith.

But that doesn't mean the stand-up comic doubts the reality of evil. Consider this blistering comment on smartphones, drawn from his "Real Time" talk show earlier this year.

Far too many people think "they don't need reality," Maher told social psychologist Jonathan Haidt of New York University, author of "The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness."

"We've made reality obsolete – interesting choice," said Maher. "Parents today, it's kind of the worst of both worlds. Too much hovering in real life, where there is any left, and then none with virtual. You go in your room, lock yourself in there with the portal of evil, that is the phone. … I feel like parents, in each generation, ceded more control to children."

In response, Haidt – a self-avowed Jewish atheist – stressed that modern life continues to eat away at the traditions of the past.

"As life gets easier, as people get wealthier, as they move away from the old days, authority tends to decay – there tends to be less respect for authority, less respect for the old ways," said Haidt. "Kids need structure, they need moral rules. … When it seems as though anything is permissible, it doesn't make people happy. It makes them feel disoriented and lost."

Maher has made it clear that he is "not a tech enthusiast," noted Emily Harrison, in her "Dear Christian Parent" Substack newsletter. But the shocker in that HBO exchange was his claim that smartphones serve as a "portal of evil" in daily life.

"Wait. What? … Yes, smartphones can do lots of great things, but they also have made the proliferation of pornography mind boggling large," wrote Harrison. After all, five years ago, PornHub was already reporting 115,000,000 visits "per day with smartphones accounting for almost 84% of their online traffic. So, is the smartphone a 'portal of evil'? Yeah, I'd say so."

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Will religious leaders dare to address the smartphone crisis? Part I

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Will religious leaders dare to address the smartphone crisis? Part I

The scene unfolds whenever the Rev. Russell Moore asks people in the pews to read a passage of scripture as he begins a sermon.

At that point, "most people pull up their phones and go to their Bible app rather than their physical Bible," said Moore, editor of Christianity Today and former head of the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission.

Once those digital screens light up, one thing leads to another, he said. People keep saying: "I have an hour where I come in and worship … and I'm distracted by – I'll get pings on my phone. I'm getting distracted by all of that."

Maybe churches should consider a strategic change in their worship plans, said Moore, in a podcast conversation with Jonathan Haidt, author of the bestseller "The Anxious Generation" and the Thomas Cooley Professor of Ethical Leadership at New York University.

There has been a trend in some evangelical churches, noted Moore, to offer "scent-free services" in their schedules. By doing this, church leaders are saying: "We have some people with allergies, so we're going to have a service – you don't have to go to this service – but if you do, you're going to say, 'I'm not coming in wearing cologne or perfume or whatever.'"

Moving to the challenges of the digital age, Moore asked: "Do you think it could work to say: 'We're going to have specific worship services that are phone free. We're not mandating that everybody come in without phones – but for this service.' Would that do anything?"

Haidt interjected: "That's a great idea, because there are a couple of things going on here that are interesting, psychologically. One is that many of us have desires for how we want to be in the long run … but then when faced with temptation, we cave."

The key is whether clergy are willing to discuss screens-culture problems and then dare people to consider acting – together.

"I'll bet, if the pastor talks about this with the congregation and says, … 'Do you feel that your phone – your digital stuff – is distracting you in ways that you're not comfortable with?' Almost all hands are going to go up," said Haidt, a self-avowed Jewish atheist. The next question: "How many of you would like to really be present when worshipping, versus distracted?" Once again, he predicted, the "hands are going to go up."

The problems found in religious communities mirror those found in schools, where researchers are seeing patterns of anxiety, depression and digital addictions among the young. Millions of people feel trapped.