How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness
In The Anxious Generation, Jonathan Haidt examines how the arrival of smartphones and social media has reshaped childhood and fueled a sharp rise in adolescent anxiety and depression. With clear-eyed analysis and humane concern, Haidt traces the decline of play and independent exploration, shows how constant connectivity fragments attention, disrupts sleep, fosters social comparison and loneliness, and creates new pathways to harm. He offers practical, evidence-based rules and steps parents, teachers, tech leaders, and policymakers can take to rebuild safer, freer childhoods. Thoughtful and accessible, this book blends research and real-world solutions to help families and communities protect young people growing up in a phone-first world.
