Experts explain the negative mental health effects of tying up children's time with cram schools and extracurricular activities
It has been pointed out that
Play Deprivation Is A Major Cause of the Teen Mental Health Crisis
https://jonathanhaidt.substack.com/p/the-play-deficit
Haidt's opinion is based on that of his mentor, Boston University psychology professor Peter Gray, who disagrees with him on whether smartphones and social media are negatively impacting teenagers' mental health.
First, over the past 50 years in the United States, there has been a general decline in teenagers' freedom to play and engage in activities outside of adult supervision. This change is due to a growing societal anxiety about the need to keep a close eye on children's behavior and an increased belief that children should spend their time on sports and extracurricular activities.
In line with these societal changes, the mental health of teenagers has steadily worsened over the past few decades. For example, the rates of conditions known as major depressive disorder (MDD) and generalized anxiety disorder have increased five to eight times. According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the suicide rate among children under the age of 15 increased 3.5 times between 1950 and 2005, and then increased 2.4 times between 2005 and 2020. It is estimated that 18.8% of American high school students have seriously considered suicide, 15.7% have made a plan, 8.9% have attempted it at least once, and 2.5% have actually committed suicide.
Research has shown that children feel happier when they have even a little more free time to play. Other studies have also shown that children perceive play as something they can initiate and control. To give you some easy-to-understand figures, it has been shown that the number of cases of poor mental health and suicide among school-age children decreases in the summer when schools are on summer vacation, and increases after the vacation ends.
Research also shows that teenagers who have part-time jobs are happier than those who don't, because working gives them a sense of independence and self-confidence.
Previous research has shown that people with a strong sense of self-reliance, or internal locus of control (LOC), are less likely to suffer from anxiety. However, it's also known that it's difficult to have a strong internal locus of control when you're constantly being monitored and controlled by others.
For this reason, Haidt states that 'children are designed to play and explore, and to grow and become more and more independent,' summarizing that what teenagers need is a 'normal childhood.'
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