Are We Creating a Generation of Tech Zombies?
- Brainz Magazine
- 6 hours ago
- 8 min read
Donna Reynolds empowers clients to build confidence, understanding it as the foundation for achieving personal goals. With experience working with people of all ages, her Confidence is Key approach helps foster a positive mindset, enabling individuals to move forward with clarity, self-assurance, and resilience.
There are many angles from which we can explore the mental health of children and teenagers today. But wherever we begin, one thing is becoming disturbingly clear: young people are being consumed by technology. Phones, games, apps, endless scrolling, it’s starting to feel less like entertainment and more like addiction.
Have we created a generation of tech zombies?
Children who can’t look up from their screens, who feel lost without constant digital stimulation, and who are struggling to cope with real-world emotions because their nervous systems are always on high alert. Stress and anxiety are at an all-time high. Confidence is at an all-time low. And the more we try to fix it, the more tangled it seems to get.
So, how did we get here? And more importantly, can we come back from it?
The technological apocalypse we didn't see coming
We may not be facing a robot uprising, but something equally worrying is happening. Our dependence on devices is quietly reshaping our minds, our habits, and our emotional resilience. With smartphones in every hand and screens in every room, we must ask: what is this doing to our children’s mental health?
Young people today face an overwhelming number of choices. With those choices comes confusion and self-doubt. What is right? Am I making the right decision? Why do I feel so unsure? These aren’t just growing pains; they're symptoms of constant overstimulation and relentless comparison.
It’s easy to blame social media, smartphones, and gaming. But have we truly considered whether we’ve created a generation of addicts? And if so, what happens when we try to take away the very thing they depend on? Would they experience withdrawal, just like with any other addiction?
In just one generation, we’ve gone from flip phones to full-blown digital dependence. It’s a scary thought. But is it too late to turn back?
A therapist’s insight
As a Cognitive Behavioural Hypnotherapist, I’ve worked with many young people overwhelmed by anxiety, overstimulation, and emotional disconnection.
One teenage client, just 14, told me she couldn’t fall asleep at night unless she was scrolling. Her phone had become her comfort blanket, yet it was also the thing making her anxious.
“If I put it down, I feel like I’m missing something, like I’m not part of the world anymore. But when I pick it up, it just makes me feel worse.”
She genuinely believed that if she wasn’t constantly online, she’d lose her friends, that unless she was always available to chat or reply, no one would want to talk to her. But once we started talking it through, she realised she’d still see her friends, she could still connect with them in person, and that her phone could be a tool, not something that controlled her.
She ended up joining a few clubs, started spending more time with her friends in real life, and felt comfortable enough to put her phone down during activities. She actually enjoyed the time away from her screen.
Instead of her phone using her, she started using it in a way that worked for her, and when her anxiety dropped, she noticed it straight away. She felt calmer, more confident, and, most importantly, happier.
Another client, just 9 years old, completely smashed up his home when his parents took away his games console. This wasn’t just a tantrum; this was withdrawal.
“Because I wasn’t allowed to play computer games,” he said, as if that explained everything.
When I asked him why he reacted that way, he paused. We talked it through, and he started to realise that what happened wasn’t okay. He understood that such a big reaction wasn’t normal, and that it might be time to make some changes.
With support, he agreed to cut back on gaming and set limits around when and how long he played. He also began spending more time outside with his friends, reconnecting in real life, and he was actually much happier for it.
It wasn’t about banning games altogether, but helping him find a balance. And once he did, the shift in his mood and behaviour was amazing.
Then there was the 12-year-old who, caught up in the emotions of a game, punched and shattered his screen. When his mum banned him from playing, he broke down in desperation. Thankfully, she recognised the red flags and came to me for support.
We worked together to find the right boundaries, ones that still allowed him to play and socialise with his friends online, but with more awareness and control. If he felt the game was taking over or making him angry, he agreed to take a break and step away.
He didn’t want to feel that way. And once he realised how the game was affecting his emotions, he understood the importance of making changes. That awareness alone was a huge step forward.
With support and guidance, all three began to understand their emotional triggers, set healthy boundaries, and reconnect with the world around them.
What the data is telling us
According to the 2023 NHS Digital Health Survey for Children and Young People in England, one in four older teenagers now has a probable mental health disorder, a figure that’s doubled since 2017. Among younger children, issues like anxiety, sleep disturbances, and attention problems are also on the rise. Excessive screen time is a key factor.
Psychologist Dr Jean Twenge, author of iGen, links this rise to the explosion of smartphones and social media around 2012:
“The more time teens spend looking at screens, the more likely they are to report symptoms of depression. Those who spend more time on social media are also more likely to feel lonely.”
But why stop at the kids?
Is it fair to blame children when they’ve grown up watching us do the same?
Walk into any restaurant and you’ll see it: couples sitting together in silence, their faces aglow not from each other’s company, but from the light of their screens. Parents are scrolling while toddlers tug at their sleeves, desperate for attention, only to be met with a distracted nod or a quick “one minute.”
We’ve modelled this behaviour, and now we’re surprised, shocked even, when our children mirror it. But how could they not? We taught them, not with words, but with actions. And they’ve been watching closely.
Have we become so absorbed in our digital lives that we’re no longer present in our real ones?
These moments aren’t isolated. They’re symptoms of a wider emotional disconnect. A sign of relationships quietly fraying. A society is slowly drifting apart under the illusion of connection.
Think about how often we walk into a café or restaurant and see couples who barely look at each other, let alone speak. Once, going out for dinner meant conversation, connection, and quality time. Now, too often, it means two people sitting opposite one another, physically together but miles apart.
And what about our children? We see them acting out, becoming frustrated or withdrawn, and we wonder why. But while they’re growing up with devices in their hands, they’re also growing up being ignored in favour of ours. We scroll while they play. We answer emails while they talk. We think we’re multitasking, but they just feel unseen.
Children aren't being taught the basics of communication, patience, and empathy, because those things are learned face-to-face, not through a screen. And when their cries for attention are met with silence, can we really be surprised when they retreat into their own digital worlds?
The real question is: Is there a way back from this?
I believe there is. But it starts with us. By putting our phones down. Being fully present. By showing our children what connection really looks like, not just telling them. If we want to raise emotionally healthy kids who can build real, meaningful relationships, we have to start by rebuilding our own.
Are we avoiding our emotions through our screens?
With everything happening in the world, I find myself asking: Are we losing the ability to deal with our emotions? Have screens become a way to escape what’s really going on in our lives?
It seems we use technology not just to avoid emotions, but to replace the very situations we’re avoiding. We feel something, we scroll. We avoid it, and then wonder why we feel more disconnected than ever.
So, how do we break this cycle?
Is it as simple as putting our phones down and reconnecting with one another? Maybe. But in practice, it's harder than ever. People come to me thinking there’s something wrong with them, believing they’re broken or unfixable. But often, the solution is much simpler than they think.
They don’t need another app or a well-being subscription. What they need is human connection, space to feel, and permission to be human. Emotions aren’t the enemy. They’re part of what makes us whole.
Saying, “you shouldn’t have emotions,” is like saying, “you shouldn’t be human.” And that’s just not acceptable.
Real tools, not more screens
That’s why I’ve developed three courses, not to add to the noise, but to provide real tools for lasting emotional well-being:
Mental health in the workplace: Because we should all be able to thrive, not just survive, at work.
Trauma training: Because so many people don’t even know what trauma is, let alone how to heal from it. Understanding trauma helps us reconnect, both with ourselves and with others.
Building confidence and resilience in children and young people: Because they are the future. And right now, we are heading for a crisis if we don’t act.
Let’s stop normalising disconnection. Let’s stop outsourcing emotional growth to screens. No one’s saying we should throw away our phones, but we must learn to use them in a healthier, more productive way. Make them work for us, not the other way around.
Reconnection is the revolution
It’s time to return to what truly matters: understanding each other, building genuine relationships, and allowing ourselves to be fully human, messy, emotional, and real.
If we don’t change course now, we risk raising not just a generation of tech zombies, but shaping a society that no longer remembers what it means to truly connect. A society that’s always online but emotionally offline.
Let’s not just survive the digital age. We can do better than that. Let’s thrive in it. Let’s use technology as the tool it was meant to be, not as a crutch or a barrier to the life happening right in front of us.
So here’s the question: Are you ready to try?
To put the phone down, look someone in the eye, and be fully present? Because reconnection starts with us. And the time is now.
Read more from Donna Kirsten Reynolds
Donna Kirsten Reynolds, Cognitive Behavioural Hypnotherapist
Donna Reynolds discovered her passion for mental health and personal growth while living abroad and navigating her own challenges. After experiencing a sudden divorce that mirrored the struggles of many women around her, Donna sought to understand why such upheavals were so common. This quest led her to study mental health and behavior, ultimately guiding her to Cognitive Behavioural Hypnotherapy. She believes that by changing our thoughts, we can overcome any barriers and create meaningful, lasting change in our lives.
