Ep. 358: Are Parents (Finally) Ready to Fight Smartphones?

In this episode of Deep Questions, Cal Newport discusses the impact of smartphones and social media on kids, highlighting a shift towards parents pushing back against early access. He references research indicating a consensus on the negative effects and advocates for social norms like delaying smartphone access until high school and social media until age 16. Cal then answers listener questions about creating separate workspaces for deep work, managing context switching with AI coding tools, and teaching organizational habits to children, emphasizing calendar-based planning. He also discusses the importance of career capital and reliability over soft skills in career advancement, and advises listeners to focus on what they can offer to the job market. The episode includes a case study illustrating the benefits of lifestyle-centric career planning and concludes with a book recommendation, "The Explorer's Gene" by Alex Hutchinson, which explores the science behind human exploration and its relevance to living a deep life.