A humorous skit involving phone conversations and texts.

• The skit features several comical phone conversations and text exchanges, including references to petting a dog and a character named Warmbo.
• A character named Katy dismisses concerns about Warmbo having a smartphone and is at a funeral where her phone use is frowned upon.

Exploration of the potential harms of smartphones and social media on children and teens.

• Smartphones and social media are associated with negative impacts on children and teens, including mental health issues and decreased academic performance.
• The narrative around smartphones often points to them as the cause for increased rates of depression, anxiety, and suicide among teens.
• Studies and meta-analyses are examined to determine the extent to which smartphones are responsible for these trends.

Discussion of historical patterns of moral panic when new technologies emerge.

• Historically, new technologies have often been met with moral panic, with concerns raised about their impact on children and society.
• Examples of past moral panics include the printing press, television, video games, and now smartphones.
• The tendency to overstate the harms of new technologies is highlighted.

Analysis of the claim that smartphones are making people dumber.

• The chapter challenges sensational claims that smartphones are drastically reducing cognitive abilities or causing 'brain drain'.
• Research and studies are scrutinized to reveal that the effects of smartphones on intelligence and academic performance are not as dramatic as often portrayed.

The addictive nature of social media and the need for regulation.

• Social media platforms are designed to be addictive, which can negatively affect users, particularly young people.
• The chapter discusses the need for regulation to address the issues caused by social media's addictive qualities.
• The challenges of self-regulation by tech companies are also considered.

Proposals for addressing the societal impact of smartphones.

• Banning smartphones is not a viable solution, and instead, there should be a focus on creating alternative social spaces and regulating tech companies.
• A new federal department, possibly called FIST, is proposed to regulate technology and protect users.
• The underlying societal issues, such as the lack of public spaces for socializing, need to be addressed to reduce smartphone dependency.