Do Smartphones Deepen the Divide?

Schools across the country are increasingly limiting students’ access to smartphones, or banning them altogether, as studies show the negative impacts phones have on mental health and classroom performance. But there is another reason we should limit kids’ access to smartphones: their effect on our political culture. It is looking increasingly like smartphones and social media are leading our culture to a new kind of tribalism. Thomas Howes has more.Further ReadingSmartphones and the New TribalismGuest InfoThomas D. Howes is Editor-in-Chief of The Vital Center, founder of the Reagan Caucus and Reagan Caucus Action, and a Lecturer in Politics at Princeton University. He is co-authoring, along with James M. Patterson, a book to be published by Acton Institute called Why Postliberalism Failed. He also has a nearly-completed book manuscript in defense of constitutional democracy from the perspective of natural law theory. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit avemariapm.substack.com