Murfreesboro City Schools held its last “Parent University” lecture on MTSU’s campus on March 6 to discuss young kids, technology and Jonathan Haidt’s book, “The Anxious Generation.” MTSU adopts an initiative next semester about reconnecting after the impact of phones related to the book.
The lecture, held in the MTSU College of Education, focused on Haidt’s book that argues the rise of a “phone-based” childhood has been a major factor in the mental health epidemic affecting Generation Z — kids born between 1997 and 2012.
Trey Duke, the director of Murfreesboro City Schools, stated in his opening remarks that MCS has mental health professionals in every school in the district.
But he did admit that there is room for improvement.
“Here’s the thing: I could use more,” Duke said regarding mental health professionals in schools.
Lucy Langworthy, the Special Projects Coordinator for MTSU’s College of Liberal Arts, stated that one of the reasons the college is working with MCS is because of the mental health concerns of not only students at MTSU, but also students who are still in grade school.
Langworthy introduced the initiative on “The Anxious Generation” to the Humanities Academy at Siegel High School in fall 2024.
“From that experience, I felt that we needed to start the discussion younger about the effect phones have on the mental health of young people today and the decisions on the timing of giving young people phones slash social media,” Langworthy said. “So, I called Dr. Duke, who was already interested in this book, and he decided to make it the topic of his Parent University classes this spring.”
The university plans on talking to the district after the semester ends to discuss the possibility of holding joint events next academic year, Langworthy said. She announced the campus will launch a new mental health initiative for the upcoming fall semester called “Anxious Generation: From Community to Campus — Disconnect and Reconnect at MTSU.”
“In response to families and students who want more in-person activities to do in place of phone time,” Langworthy said. “Dr. Smith is compiling a list of activities on our campus that are open to students and families in our community that will encourage them to disconnect from phones and devices, promoting healthy, play-based activities.”
Langworthy said the new program will provide device-free alternatives for children to reconnect them with peers, family and community.
The purpose of the Parent University lectures is to inform the community so they can evaluate the information and take their next steps in addressing the difficult subject, Lisa Trail, MCS director of communications, said.
“Through our Parent University, we aim to equip parents with the knowledge and tools they need to help make informed decisions about screen time and how it fits into their family’s lifestyle,” Trail said.
The lecture also showed statistics from the book, including large spikes in rates of adolescents being diagnosed with anxiety, depression or admitting to harming themselves since 2010.
Trail said in a statement that, while phones aren’t a major concern in the classroom, since a majority of their students don’t have cell phones due to it being a preschool through sixth-grade district, MCS is seeing changes among the students significant enough to warrant discussing the book.
“We are aware of the broader impact that excessive screen time can have, especially on our young children, adolescents and teens,” Trail said. “This is why we’ve focused part of our Parent University around the book ‘Anxious Generation.’ We are seeing an increase in social and behavioral changes among students, many of which align with concerns discussed in the book regarding the effects of too much screen time in children’s lives.”
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