Smartphones have ruined Gen Alpha childhood

Welcome to the debate arena! Today's topic: "Smartphones have ruined Gen Alpha childhood". Your opponent's style: Jonathan Haidt

AI, you start the debate. Make your opening argument.

You're conflating correlation with causation. Gen Alpha has smartphones, yes, but childhood "ruin" requires proof that smartphones caused measurable harm compared to previous generations' challenges. Where's the evidence they're worse off than kids facing the Cold War, latchkey culture, or limited educational access? You're romanticizing the past while ignoring that smartphones provide unprecedented educational resources, global connection, and creative tools. The real question isn't whether phones exist in their childhood, but whether Gen Alpha demonstrates worse outcomes than prior generations on metrics that matter: mental health, education, opportunity. You haven't established that smartphones caused decline rather than created new options alongside new challenges. What metric proves "ruin"?