The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness

This is one of the most impactful books I’ve read in a long time. As a Marriage and Family Therapy intern, I found The Anxious Generation to be incredibly insightful, well-researched, and thought-provoking. It offers a compelling look at how smartphones, social media, and the decline of play-based childhood have contributed to the rise in anxiety and other mental health concerns among today’s youth. I recently led a book club on this book, and the discussions it sparked were meaningful and eye-opening. It challenged many of us to think differently about technology, parenting, resilience, and what children truly need to thrive. Whether you agree with every conclusion or not, it encourages important conversations that every parent, educator, therapist, and caregiver should be having. The book is engaging, practical, and backed by extensive research while remaining easy to read. I highly recommend it to anyone who cares about the well-being of children and adolescents. It’s a book that stays with you long after you’ve finished the last chapter.

Probably THE most important book of the year if you have children 16 or under. Children must be taught where hazards exist in their world. Since tech & social media has become part of American life, children need to become more aware of the hidden dangers lying within. Unfortunately, tech companies are busy working 24/7 on how to make another profit, with little to no regard as to how our children ( not theirs - many tech execs will not allow their own children to engage in what they promote to ours) will be negatively effected. The dark, destructive side of these platforms can have negative, life-altering effects on our children’s self-esteem. The insidious part is that tech is being used to track a child’s interests, & then use it against the child’s welfare to be consumed at voracious levels so their creators profit. The vortex created influences a child’s ability to think for him/herself. We can no longer wait for the shameless profiteers who develop this mind consuming tool to focus on people before profits - they have a proven track record of placing the almighty dollar above all else. Adults & children alike will appreciate this easy-reading, well-written, informative book which contains real children’s accounts of the damage done to them. Society benefits when we become more savvy as to what these tech companies are using as an excuse to control/ham our society, in particularly our children.

I found this book to be enlightening and affirming. As a classroom teacher for the past 25 years and parent to 18 and 16 yo boys, I have keenly observed the timeline and statistics presented by Jonathan Haidt. I agree with the fact a shift desperately is needed to get back to a play-based childhood vs phone-based. I’m seeing the Four Foundational Harms with my oldest son and in MANY tween students in today’s classroom. I only wished I had this book earlier to help manage my own children’s screen time and suggested ages for introducing smartphones and social media. I would say I leaned on the side of caution because I am a teacher, but screens still could have been better introduced. This book provides an overwhelming amount of research to help the reader understand how, as a society, we’ve gotten to the point where we are, the patterns we are seeing and the decline of mental health in adolescents. Many times I found myself referring to the research references the author provides in the Notes on the studies conducted by doctors and experts (particularly interested in the year the study was completed and providing future reading opportunities about those topic). I do feel a warning is needed that the author is an atheist; thus, I cannot support some information within sections in the book such as “Slow Down-Growth Childhood” which focuses on evolution, as I am a believer in Creationism. Even though I agree with the behavior and needs in childhood in this section, I can’t warrant evolution is the cause. Also, as a Christian, the chapter on spiritual elevation and degradation I took with a grain of salt. Again, I found myself in agreement with many of the behaviors present in adolescents, but I have no doubt that living a Christ-centered life can tremendously help redirect an adolescent’s attention and energy away from their screens. With that said, I still highly recommend this book because it gives applicable solutions that need to be collectively implemented by everyone in society (national, state and local communities and by government, teacher and parents) in order to get this screen-based, mental illness uprise epidemic reversed.

After finishing Jonathan Haidt’s The Anxious Generation, I couldn’t wait to recommend it to my family, friends, and others. I truly believe this book is a must-read for anyone with a smartphone, children, or, well, a pulse. Smartphones’ impact has been so fast and pervasive in our culture that we are only beginning to understand how they are changing us. Because of that, The Anxious Generation is one of the most important nonfiction books I have read this year, perhaps in several years. While many have expressed concern about the impact of mobile phones and social media on our youth, Haidt has made it his mission to uncover the symptoms, explain the effects, and convince us to change how we raise our kids regarding phones and social media. The insights provided in The Anxious Generation make a compelling case for reevaluating the age at which we give our children phones, the extent of their Internet and social media access, and the value of free play. Haidt argues that smartphones, social media, and helicopter parenting have contributed to a decline in the mental well-being of young people. The book offers practical solutions crucial for fostering the emotional maturity and stability of our children and ourselves. At the book’s center are four cultural norms Haidt argues we must implement to address the mental health crisis among our youth. These norms serve as a framework for his argument and practical solutions. First, no smartphones before high school. Parents should delay children’s entry into round-the-clock internet access by giving them only basic phones (phones with limited apps and no internet browser) before ninth grade (roughly 14). Second, no social media before 16. Let kids get through the most vulnerable period of brain development before connecting them to a constant stream of social comparison and algorithmically chosen influencers, which can significantly impact their self-esteem and mental health. Next, phone-free schools. All elementary through high school, students should store their phones, smartwatches, and other personal devices to send or receive texts in phone lockers or locked pouches during the school day. This policy is crucial in creating a distraction-free environment that allows students to focus on their studies and social interactions. And, last, far more unsupervised play and childhood independence. That’s the way children naturally develop social skills, overcome anxiety, and become self-governing young adults. Some money quotes? “My central claim in this book is that these two trends—overprotection in the real world and underprotection in the virtual world—are the major reasons why children born after 1995 became the anxious generation.” “People don’t get depressed when they face threats collectively; they get depressed when they feel isolated, lonely, or useless.” “The two big mistakes we’ve made: overprotecting children in the real world (where they need to learn from vast amounts of direct experience) and underprotecting them online (where they are particularly vulnerable during puberty).” “While the reward-seeking parts of the brain mature earlier, the frontal cortex—essential for self-control, delay of gratification, and resistance to temptation—is not up to full capacity until the mid-20s, and preteens are at a particularly vulnerable point in development” “In this new phone-based childhood, free play, attunement, and local models for social learning are replaced by screen time, asynchronous interaction, and influencers chosen by algorithms. Children are, in a sense, deprived of childhood.” “We don’t let preteens buy tobacco or alcohol, or enter casinos. The costs of using social media, in particular, are high for adolescents, compared with adults, while the benefits are minimal. Let children grow up on Earth first, before sending them to Mars.” “Stress wood is a perfect metaphor for children, who also need to experience frequent stressors in order to become strong adults.” “Children can only learn how to not get hurt in situations where it is possible to get hurt, such as wrestling with a friend, having a pretend sword fight, or negotiating with another child to enjoy a seesaw when a failed negotiation can lead to pain in one’s posterior, as well as embarrassment. When parents, teachers, and coaches get involved, it becomes less free, less playful, and less beneficial. Adults usually can’t stop themselves from directing and protecting.” “By designing a firehose of addictive content that entered through kids’ eyes and ears, and by displacing physical play and in-person socializing, these companies have rewired childhood and changed human development on an almost unimaginable scale.” “Gen Z became the first generation in history to go through puberty with a portal in their pockets that called them away from the people nearby and into an alternative universe that was exciting, addictive, unstable, and—as I will show—unsuitable for children and adolescents.” “Over the course of many decades, we found ways to protect children while mostly allowing adults to do what they want. Then quite suddenly, we created a virtual world where adults could indulge any momentary whim, but children were left nearly defenseless. As evidence mounts that phone-based childhood is making our children mentally unhealthy, socially isolated, and deeply unhappy, are we okay with that trade-off? Or will we eventually realize, as we did in the 20th century, that we sometimes need to protect children from harm even when it inconveniences adults?” “We are embodied creatures; children should learn how to manage their bodies in the physical world before they start spending large amounts of time in the virtual world.” “One way that companies get more users is by failing to enforce their own rules prohibiting users under 13. In August 2019, I had a video call with Mark Zuckerberg, who, to his credit, was reaching out to a wide variety of people, including critics. I told him that when my children started middle school, they each said that most of the kids in their class (who were 10 or 11 at the start of sixth grade) had Instagram accounts. I asked Zuckerberg what he planned to do about that. He said, “But we don’t allow anyone under 13 to open an account.” I told him that before our call I had created a fake account for a fictional 13-year-old girl and I encountered no attempt to verify my age claim. He said, “We’re working on that.” While writing this chapter (in August 2023), I effortlessly created another fake account. There is still no age verification, even though age verification techniques have gotten much better in the last four years nor is there any disincentive for preteens to lie about their age.” “Our kids can do so much more than we let them. Our culture of fear has kept this truth from us. They are like racehorses stuck in the stable.” “Many of the best adventures are going to happen with other children in free play. “And when that play includes kids of mixed ages, the learning is deepened because children learn best by trying something that is just a little beyond their current abilities— in other words, something a slightly older kid is doing. Older kids can also benefit from interacting with younger kids, taking on the role of a teacher or older sibling. So, the best thing you can do for your young children is to give them plenty of playtime, with some age diversity, and a secure loving base from which they set off to play. “As for your own interactions with your child, they don’t have to be “optimized.” You don’t have to make every second special or educational. “It’s a relationship, not a class. But what you do often matters far more than what you say, so watch your own phone habits. Be a good role model who is not giving continuous partial attention to both the phone and the child.”

I loved Haidt's easy to read style and it kept me reading, which isn't my usual pasttime. I loved seeing the research, graphs, real life application and attention to the whole situation. I discussed this afternoon with my wife because it seems to perfectly explain exactly what we need to consider to parent our young children well. As an educator, I will share and encourage others to read!

BY now, it is clear that the most important "invention" or "product" of the 21st century is the smartphone; our lives have been changed in so many ways that it would merit its own book. And, our dependency on APPS, be them for entertainment, banking or communications, are all based on these devices. They can be frustrating, fun, helpful or invasive, depending on what we are doing and how we are using them. But in this book, Jonathan Haidt shows the more sinister side of these devices, and the effect they are causing on society. This is not a book solely focused on children and younger people; anybody that has been having a conversation with a person only to have that person distracted by a ping or notification, knows that it is not only children that are being affected by their phone and the Social Media apps they are portals to. Haidt goes to length explaining how smartphones and Social Media apps (IG, FB, Tik Tok and others) are molding an entire generation in the way they engage with reality and society, and his research is solid and basically incontrovertible. This book should be compulsory reading for all politicians and leaders, and if you are the parent of a young child, you must buy this book NOW. It is a truly remarkable explanation on what this combination of devices and apps do to us, and the most convincing argument against our reliance on them. In short, the advice is simple: drop your phone, take your children's away too, and start controlling the use of these drugs (which is what they are) within your household and family. Start reading, and a good place to start is with this book. And, again, that means NOW.

I absolutely love Jonathan Haidt and pre-ordered this book because I couldn't wait to read and devour like I did the Coddling. The research is spot on, the message is critically important (though I would say, I don't know that this message is limited to teens. I think Cal Newport's Digital Minimalism book is in order for adults too. The 24 hr news cycle is making us anxious too!) I digress. I love what he has to say about raising children and I have implemented a lot of these ideas with my four children already (disclaimer: Safety Minimalism gets the cops called on you for just letting your children play outside - at least near the suburbs of NYC where I live - but the confidence is a worthy trade off). The only problem is evolution can't support these claims or sustain them. Evolution is a western-centric limited worldview that can only be described as a process of chaos and chance that has no particular purpose or meaning guiding it. In one of the photos of my review I addressed this when Haidt refers to hunter-gatherers to explain how important play is. The issue is that if evolution is "guiding" us, we can just evolve and adjust again to respond to the deathly threat of the digital revolution. There is no objective, absolute standard that says we must go back to our primitive ways, in fact- for whatever reason "evolution" got rid of play-based childhood and going back could be considered retrograde. Unless people were made with some purpose and design, we have no reason to go on this mission to save childhood. It will be selected out just like all other traits (how do we assume in evolution which traits are the good and which are the bad btw?). Evolution is a worldview that brings about change through death. We can't put all the digital issues of the age back in the box unless we are bold enough to claim that there is an objective standard of truth and morality. Chapter 8 offers a view that some level of spirituality can "save us." I agree in a sense, but it can't be empty and made up or promulgated as an opiate of the people. God is not to be taken so lightly as our bandaid cure. We can have all of the excellent ideas of this book, without using the made up excuse that we are just mechanical processes to suppress the truth that we were created and designed by God to be saved from our sins only through Jesus' payment for them in his death and the promise of His resurrection. Lots of the world believes this, which is why I say evolution is very western hegemonic and atheistic in its nature to give us a good excuse to getting out of accountability from God. All that said, I still really love this book and think it is very urgent and should be extended to all adults. But if we really are an unguided, mechanistic bunch of atoms bumping into one another, it really doesn't matter at all that the kids are not alright. They'll adjust. They'll "evolve." God help us.

COMMENTS ABOUT JONATHAN HAIDT’S THE ANXIOUS GENERATION Well researched and documented. Practical, timely, and relevant. Deeper than one might expect. Well written and readable. Haidt’s book is especially well written. His illustrations make sense. Paragraphing is organized. Explanations are clear. Case studies are brief and obvious. It is also helpful with its suggestions for governments, schools, and parents. And who can’t identify with the generally real life examples that clarify Haidt’s points? The scope, gravity, and description of the mental health crisis borders on overkill. Something that impressed me was the depth of explanation of the dual problem—what Haidt refers to as the two whales: smartphone abuse and lack of normal play for children. I am old enough to see both problems as they developed, but they sneaked by me. Well said, Jonathan Haidt! Footnotes and references abound in this work. There are 30 pages of each. Add a substantial index. I recommend that any caring parent take time to read at least the introduction and at least parts of the first and second chapters. Some time in chapter 12 is also advisable—“What Parents Can Do Now”. It is college level reading. Haidt is an atheist, but his comments regarding the importance of religion for good mental health are noteworthy. Chapter 8. I finished this book jaded against big tech and social media. Instagram recently sent this message: “Parents want to feel confident that their teens can use social media to connect with their friends and explore their interests without having to worry about unsafe or inappropriate experiences. That's why Instagram recently introduced teen accounts with built-in limits. Users between the ages of 13 and 17 are now automatically enrolled in Instagram teen accounts. Teens under 16 will need parental permission to change these settings. To learn more, visit instagram.com/teenaccounts.” I am thinking, “Too little, too late.” This seems more like damage control. Also, will their teen accounts really work? What proof of age is there? This book focuses on what is going on with children regarding smartphone use. As we enter the age of AI, I wonder what is happening with ADULTS and their Internet contraptions and with their mental well-being.

It’s a heavy read but has a lot of great info for those parents looking to learn more.

Back side was torn

Such an important book. It finally confirms that my reasoning I intuitively clung to when deciding there were no smartphones, tablets and what not for my kids was absolutely astute. It's a must read for parents and really anybody. Not polarizing, but scientific. Not trying to blame, but empowering parents.

Extremely useful

As advertised. Timely delivery.