Seeing as how the linked article is an editorial, I took a look at the link from the Guardian.

And it’s all people saying how it’s more difficult to talk to their friends now. But how? You still have a phone that dials numbers. Your parents, presumably, have the ability to access social media and obtain any numbers you need if you inadvertently failed to do so. You have email. And it’s free.

The last line reiterates how, while this is ultimately a parental failing, the parental failing has been so astronomical and the harm to kids’ cognitive abilities and mental stability so profound that regulation is essential.

I look forward to the day when social media use is banned globally for all underage people, and if you need more information as to why, go speak to any schoolteacher in America who can’t get their students to pay attention for more than 60 seconds, or who can’t retain information that is literally written on the board in front of them. And it’s getting worse because most parents just park their kid in front of a screen all day.

Like recycling, this is a problem that cannot be solved by expecting individuals to act. Government regulation of social media platforms is necessary.