Hi. Today, we’re digging into all the research around smartphone and social media use, especially among teens. Do they cause depression and alienation? Or is this all an overblown moral panic? Or… a confounding third thing, where it’s a little of both?

Executive Producer - Katy Stoll
Hosted by Cody Johnston
Directed by Will Gordh
Written by Ella Yurman and David Christopher Bell
Edited by John Conway
Produced by Jonathan Harris
Associate Producer - Quincy Tucker
Post-Production Supervisor - John Conway
Researcher - Marco Siler-Gonzales
Graphics by Clint DeNisco
Head Writer - David Christopher Bell

SOURCES: docs.google.com

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Chapters:
00:00 - Intro
01:51 - Is it the phones?
04:51 - Student test scores
11:38 - Spurious study
12:49 - Teen loneliness and depression
22:33 - Technology moral panics
28:33 - Maybe it’s not the phones, but social media specifically
34:28 - Is social media a non-substance addiction?
40:40 - Shouldn’t we regulate this stuff?
45:27 - What else could be causing teen depression?