(Illustration by Michelle Kondrich/The Washington Post)

Clare Morell is a fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center and author of “The Tech Exit: A Practical Guide to Freeing Kids and Teens from Smartphones.”

It’s hardly a shocking idea among parents that smartphones and social media have been highly detrimental to kids. Many families fear they are driving a crisis of loneliness, anxiety and depression among teens, along with more severe outcomes including suicides from sextortion, eating disorders from dangerous dieting advice, and deepfake pornography and other child sexual exploitation online.

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