Is social media driving teen mental health issues?

September 15, 2026

AI Summary

5 min read

In 2021, Boston College research professor Peter Gray published a study showing that teen suicide rates in the United States fell by roughly 40 percent between 1990 and 2010 — a decline that coincided with the rise of home computers and early internet access. That finding directly contradicts the popular narrative that digital technology is primarily responsible for the current youth mental health crisis. In his new book Restoring Childhood, Gray argues that the real culprit behind the post-2010 spike in teen anxiety, depression, and suicide is not smartphones or social media, but a dramatic shift in American schooling: the nationwide adoption of the Common Core curriculum and its high-stakes standardized testing regime.

What the long arc of teen mental health actually shows

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What you'll learn

1 Is social media driving teen mental health issues?
2 The Vergecast — Diagnostic Expert Interview
3 (00:02) **Opening & Guest Introduction** - Lauren Feiner introduces the debate between Jonathan Haidt's smartphone/social media theory and Peter Gray's competing explanation focused on schooling changes
4 (04:35) **The Long View: Suicide Rates 1950-2020** - Gray presents the full historical trajectory of teen mental health, showing a four-fold suicide increase from 1950-1990, then improvement, then a new spike after 2010
5 (06:34) **The First Decline: Loss of Free Play (1950-1990)** - Gray explains that 11-12 societal changes restricting children's independent play and exploration drove the initial rise in mental health problems
6 (08:25) **The 1990s Rebound: Home Computers as a New Playground** - Gray argues that the home computer revolution gave deprived kids a new way to play, explore, and gain status away from adult control
7 (12:50) **The 2010 Spike: Common Core Curriculum** - Gray identifies the implementation of Common Core standards and high-stakes testing as the primary driver of the post-2010 mental health crisis

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Show Notes

Two years ago, social psychologist Jonathan Haidt released his book, The Anxious Generation. In it, he argued that the rise of social media and smartphone use is to blame for the prominent decline in teen mental health since 2010. This month, psychology researcher Peter Gray takes on that narrative with his book, Restoring Childhood. In a conversation with senior policy reporter Lauren Feiner, Gray argues that school — not social media — is the real culprit.