The Anxiety Doctor: Social Media Is Causing A Mental Health COLLAPSE (& It's Only Getting WORSE!)

He argues that around 2012–2013, teen mental health worsened rapidly across multiple developed countries, especially among girls, and says this synchronized pattern is unprecedented and larger in impact on kids than COVID.

He says the timing aligns with kids switching from flip phones to smartphones, and he points to experimental studies where reducing social media use leads to improved well-being after several weeks (despite initial discomfort).

He argues social media can be useful for adults as “networking,” but says early puberty is a uniquely vulnerable developmental window and that middle schoolers don’t need stranger-accessible platforms to stay connected.

He says anxiety is rooted in normal fear systems, but chronic stress and constant threat-monitoring can dysregulate stress responses; he also criticizes some school-based emotion-labeling practices as potentially increasing anxiety and urges more real-world exposure through play.

He describes a “collective action problem” where parents feel forced to give phones because everyone else does; he highlights rapid parent organizing (e.g., WhatsApp groups in the UK) as evidence norms can change quickly.