“Gen Z became the first generation in history to go through puberty with a portal in their pockets that called them away from the people nearby and into an alternative universe that was exciting, addictive, unstable, and- as I will show-unsuitable for children and adolescents. Succeeding socially in that universe required them to devote a large part of their consciousness-perpetually-to managing what became their online brand. This was now necessary to gain acceptance from peers, which is the oxygen of adolescence, and to avoid online shaming, which is the nightmare of adolescence. Gen Z teens got sucked into spending many hours of each day scrolling through the shiny happy posts of friends, acquaintances, and distant influencers.” RelationshipsCommunityTeensEvolutionary PsychologySocial AnxietySocial RelationsGen Z2010Mental DevelopmentWoke Generation Book:The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Caused an Epidemic of Mental Illness Source: The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Caused an Epidemic of Mental Illness