In 2019, Xi Jinping restricted video game usage for minors in China. Barwick et al used the opportunity to study the impact of these restrictions in college. They found 3 things to be true:
(1) One standard deviation increase in app usage reduces GPAs by 36% and eventual wages by 2.3%
(2) App usage is contagious. A roommate’s app usage has both direct (noise and disruptions) and indirect effects (behavior spills over).
(3) Using high-frequency GPS data, they identified one underlying cause: high app usage crowds out time in study halls and increases late arrivals at and absences from lectures.
If sitting is the new smoking, cell phone usage for kids is the new cocaine.
