Outspoken liberal reporter Taylor Lorenz raised eyebrows after she sent frantic tweets blaming climate change and wealth inequality for rising rates of teen depression.
The Washington Post columnist, who writes on social media misinformation, was outraged by the idea that teens' social media activity could be contributing to their anxiety and emotional distress.
"People are like ‘Why are kids so depressed? It must be their PHONES!’ But never mention the fact that we’re living in a late stage capitalist hellscape during an ongoing deadly pandemic w[ith] record wealth inequality, 0 social safety net/job security, as climate change cooks the world," Lorenz complained.
The tech columnist sent another heavy-handed tweet that read, "Not to be a doomer, but u have to be delusional to look at life in our country rn [right now] and have any amt [amount] of hope or optimism."
Her hyperbolic tweets drew strong reaction online, with conservatives suggesting the journalist take a break from Twitter.
"Taylor Lorenz looking up from her phone to tell us that it isn't phones that are bad and making her a Doomer - it's the reality the phones show us that's bad," podcast host Noam Blum noted.
"Ironically, this is the exact rhetoric of a person who spends entirely too much time on the phone. Maybe go for a walk. Get some sun," Columnist and program director for the National Journalism Center T. Becket Adams proposed.
Others wondered what experience Lorenz was speaking from, considering she was raised in an affluent family.
"We live in the most comfortable time in human history in the most powerful country in the world. And Taylor was born into the upper tier of that luxury. Maybe there’s something to be said for being *too* comfortable," columnist Bethany S. Mandel wrote.
"Former generations worked 80 hours, amassing wealth for their families, so that we could all complain on social media," author Daniel Buck teased in a reply to Mandel.
Others mocked the columnist's outrage with "Someone didn't get their avocado toast that morning," and "Looks like Taylor's midlife crisis is a rough one."
Andrew Egger, editor at The Dispatch was puzzled by Lorenz's anxious posts, calling them "bizarre" and "bewildering."
"This sort of thing is so bewildering to me. Lots of people have led happy, contented lives throughout history, and many of them weren't even among the more fortunate members of the richest and most comfortable society that has ever existed!" he tweeted.
In other follow-up tweets, he suggested the journalist find a way to enjoy life and get off her phone.
TAYLOR LORENZ SUSPENDED FROM TWITTER, CLAIMS ELON MUSK PERSONALLY REMOVED HER FROM PLATFORM
"Touch grass! Hold a baby! Do something nice for somebody you know! Go for a run! Accept Jesus Christ as your personal savior! Do anything other than continue to scroll!" he advised.
Retired journalist Richard Belcher had the same reaction, suggesting Lorenz read a book or visit a less fortunate country.
"Hmmm, ‘capitalist hellscape’ with 'record wealth inequality!' She should read some Charles Dickens — just for starters. Our just visit rural Peru or Sudan," he tweeted.
Others expressed concern over the tweets. Podcast host Tim Pool claimed the columnist needed intervention. "I think she needs someone who cares about her to take her phone away and bring her to some type of rehabilitation," he wrote.
Last year, Lorenz attacked Washington Post colleague Helaine Olen's "absurd and insensitive post" after Olen called it unhealthy for people to be trapped inside their houses due to fear over the coronavirus.
Lorenz also drew controversy in 2022 after she doxxed the previously anonymous creator of the LibsofTikTok Twitter account in a Washington Post article.
