Smartphones are increasingly leaving teenagers lonely and depressed

Teenagers in the US on Monday are working less, having less sex and are far less happy than previous generations because of increased use of smartphones, says a social psychologist who has been researching generational differences for 25 years.

In an article for The Atlantic, adapted from her forthcoming book on the current generation -- the iGen, as she calls it, Jean Twenge says there is compelling evidence that the devices we have placed in young people's hands are having profound effects on their lives -- and making them seriously unhappy.

The statistics, as outlined by Twenge, are alarming, Fortune.com reported on Sunday.

While only 56 per cent of high school seniors dated in 2015, compared to 85 per cent for Gen Xers and Baby Boomers, the number of teenagers who spend daily time with friends dropped by 40 per cent between 2000 and 2015, it said. Read More