Following Parents’ Lead, Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Daughter Joins Fight Against Smartphones

76-year-old bodybuilding icon Arnold Schwarzenegger has often remained vocal about the damage smartphones cause, be it on adults or children. The Terminator once labeled smartphones as tools of distraction and has attempted to persuade people to reduce their dependence on such focus-depleting devices. Later, his ex-wife Maria Shriver also wrote about the same topic in May. Now their eldest daughter, Katherine Schwarzenegger, has joined the cause.

While smartphones do have a major effect on the entire population, these devices may have an even worse effect on children. This is increasingly seen with the existence of terms like ‘iPad kids’ which exist for children who can’t spend a moment without their smart devices. Now, the mother-of-two Katherine Schwarzenegger is advocating for the fight against the overuse of such devices by kids.

The 34-year-old author shared a post by Social Psychologist Jonathan Haidt on her Instagram Story. Haidt announced a breakthrough in the crusade to curb smartphone addiction in children. “California joins growing national effort to ban smartphone use in schools,” wrote the psychologist. He also shared a photograph of California Governor Gavin Newsom, who is also officially backing the cause.

“When children and teens are in school, they should focus on their studies, not on their screens,” Newsom said in a statement revealed in the post. The eldest daughter of the former Governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger, rejoiced in the movement’s growth. On June 5th, Katherine put out a similar story after New York Governor Kathy Hochul wrote an op-ed in the New York Post, emphasizing the urgency of passing new laws to protect children from the negative impacts of social media. Then, she had mentioned Newsom, and asked for California to be the “next in line for this awesomeness.”

Katherine’s concerns are reflected in research as well. A study from Sapien Labs found that there was a correlation between mental health and smartphone usage during childhood. “Later the age at which these young adults first got a phone or tablet that they could carry with them in childhood, the better their mental wellbeing as adults,” one of the key findings of the study showed. From their research, Sapien Labs also discovered that those who got their phones at a younger age were “more likely to experience suicidal thoughts, feelings of aggression towards others and a sense of being detached from reality”.

On the other hand, Jonathan Haidt also shared some findings that explained the direness of the situation. Haidt showcased how the U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy wrote an essay in the New York Times on Monday, citing a 2019 study that showed adolescents who spend an excess of three hours on social media per day have double the risk of developing anxiety and depression. Another study found that 97% of school children use smartphones with 72% of U.S. High School teachers labeling the devices as a major distraction in class. Arnold Schwarzenegger has a similar opinion.

Arnold Schwarzenegger once explained how smartphones distract us

While children may face harsher consequences of smartphone addiction during their formative years, adults aren’t immune to it as well. According to Arnold Schwarzenegger, adults are losing sight of their goals thanks to smartphones. The Austrian Oak believed many people embark on their fitness journeys, only to get distracted during training thanks to smartphones.

The seven-time Mr. Olympia explained that these devices inspire “half-a**ing,” leading to subpar results. However, smartphones don’t just sap people’s focus, they even disrupt the time we spend with our loved ones. Whether it’s an old friend, wife, children, or parents, people scroll on their smartphones even while spending time with the people they are close to, Arnie said.

As a mother of two children, Katherine Schwarzenegger is among the countless parents across the country who are worried about the smartphone situation. She is among the many who desire to safeguard the future generation from yet another addiction. What do you think of California jumping on the bandwagon to limit smartphone usage in schools? Let us know in the comments.