What Peter Gray has said about Social media and adolescent mental health

2 quotes · 1 episode · Sep 29, 2026

Peter Gray, American evolutionary psychologist and author of Free to Learn and Restoring Childhood, has been quoted on Social media and adolescent mental health 2 times in 1 episode of Passion Struck with John R. Miles, most recently on September 29, 2026. Each quote below is verbatim and links to the moment it was said.

In their words

Gray argues teen mental health improved between 1990 and 2010 because computers, early social media and video games gave teenagers new power and real play.
“They could play video games, which are real play. There's a lot of research showing this is real play”
Passion Struck with John R. Miles: Your Kids Don’t Need More Achievement. They Need More Freedom | Dr. Peter Gray - EP 826 (Sep 29, 2026) · Listen from 56:34
Gray states that large studies and meta-analyses find no meaningful correlation between screen or social media time and youth mental health.
“There's no meaningful correlation between that and measures of their mental health”
Passion Struck with John R. Miles: Your Kids Don’t Need More Achievement. They Need More Freedom | Dr. Peter Gray - EP 826 (Sep 29, 2026) · Listen from 1:00:00

Your Kids Don’t Need More Achievement. They Need More Freedom | Dr. Peter Gray - EP 826
Passion Struck with John R. Miles · Sep 29, 2026 · 1 h 17 min
Evolutionary psychologist Peter Gray tells John R. Miles why children need free play and independence, blaming school pressure rather than smartphones for the youth mental health crisis.