Free Audio Book : The Anxious Generation, by Jonathan Haidt

Following a period of over ten years of either stability or progress, the mental well-being of teenagers took a nosedive in the early part of the 2010s. The incidence of depression, anxiety, self-harm, and suicide saw a steep increase, with most indicators more than doubling. What could be the reason?

In his book, The Anxious Generation, Jonathan Haidt, a social psychologist, presents the facts about the surge in adolescent mental illness that simultaneously affected numerous countries. He delves into the essence of childhood, including the necessity for children to engage in play and independent exploration to grow into capable, flourishing adults. Haidt illustrates how the era of “play-based childhood” began to fade in the 1980s, and how it was ultimately eradicated by the emergence of the “phone-based childhood” in the early 2010s. He introduces over a dozen mechanisms by which this “massive overhaul of childhood” has disrupted children’s social and neurological development, addressing everything from sleep deprivation to attention fragmentation, addiction, loneliness, social contagion, social comparison, and perfectionism. He elucidates why social media is more detrimental to girls than boys and why boys have been retreating from the real world into the virtual one, leading to catastrophic outcomes for them, their families, and their societies.

Crucially, Haidt makes a strong call to action. He identifies the “collective action problems” that ensnare us, and then suggests four straightforward rules that could potentially liberate us. He outlines measures that parents, teachers, schools, tech companies, and governments can implement to put an end to the mental illness epidemic and reinstate a more compassionate childhood.

Throughout his career, Haidt has been committed to speaking data-backed truths in the most challenging environments—communities divided by politics and religion, campuses embroiled in culture wars, and now the public health crisis confronting Gen Z. It is imperative that we pay heed to his insights about safeguarding our children—and ourselves—from the psychological harm of a life dominated by phones.