Will I love The Anxious Generation?

I loved this book because it finally put words to a discomfort I have felt for years but could never fully articulate. As I read, I kept thinking about students, classrooms, and even my own daily habits, and how subtly anxiety has become normalized. What struck me most was how deeply this book resonated with my lived experience, not just my academic interests. I found myself pausing often, reflecting on childhood, attention, and emotional resilience in a screen-saturated world. This book stayed with me because it made me more attentive to how fragile human development can be when technology quietly… show more.

As a former teacher who watched screens take over classrooms, Haidt's research validates what I witnessed: children's mental health collapsing under digital overload. He connects school-issued devices to anxiety and depression with devastating precision. This isn't just about social media, it's about how we've restructured childhood around screens. Essential reading for any parent watching their child's spark dim behind blue light.

I have long been skeptical about claims that the consumption of certain media products was responsible for users’ criminal acts, other forms of (mis)behaviour, or indeed mental disorders. But I have also been puzzled, and disturbed, by the fixation of so many (especially young) people on their smartphones and other small screens. In addition, I have observed in my circle of friends and relatives examples of teenagers’ wholesale withdrawal from the physical into a digital world.

Based on many dozen empirical studies from around the world, Jonathan Haidt’s book makes a compelling argument that the use of smartphones and social… show more.

I’ve devoted my life to helping teen girls know their God-given worth, thrive mentally, and live purposefully. When I was 18 and 21, I was hospitalized for depression and suicidal thoughts—something rarely talked about then. Today, one in three teen girls seriously considers suicide.

Social media is fueling this crisis, and I share Jonathan Haidt’s righteous anger. His research confirms what I’ve seen: social media isn’t just correlated with mental health issues—it causes them. His solutions, like restoring a play-based childhood and holding off social media for kids until age sixteen, echo my own.

This book is essential reading for… show more.

As a parent, it's been pretty easy to see the pernicious impact of social media on children. But this incredible book gave me such context not just on how tech has changed childhood, but how mammals have evolved in ways that makes us humans so susceptible to social media. It sent me down a rabbit hole reading everything else Jonathan Haidt has written.

As someone who writes for kids I am always interested in books and articles about today’s young people.

The Anxious Generation is a detailed description about how the introduction of smart phones around 2012 has changed childhood and ushered in a host of mental health problems for kids and adolescents. Haidt’s thesis is provocative and controversial but Haidt has the statistics and studies to back it up.

Haidt says we have been running an uncontrolled experiment with our children by giving them unfettered access to the Internet. But he does suggest solutions.

Haidt’s 4 basic rules are: (1) No… show more.

I loved The Anxious Generation because Jonathan Haidt really digs into why today’s kids are struggling so much with mental health. He captures how social media, school pressure, and other stressors pile up, and his insights made me think deeply about how we can actually help kids build resilience. It’s a powerful, eye-opening read that left me inspired to keep working toward healthier futures for kids.

As a professional creating social media, a professor teaching social media, and a parent of children who grew up in a social media age this book pulled together all I was noticing and feeling the past decade. There are negative consequences of social media use that we must consider as a society, marketing professionals, and parents. The book helps me in my approach to teaching social media strategy and my understanding of my college students who are in the generation that Haidt discusses.

Jonathan Haidt is a role model of mine. His unique insights into societal issues are not just thought-provoking but transformative. I’m a father of two sons, so Professor Haidt’s insights on the challenges of today’s youth hit close to home for me. I find his research extremely important and relevant.

While reading, I was struck by his comparison of modern online friendships to what my generation grew up with. When I was growing up, the friends and groups we hung out with were highly formative and influential. But the modern generation is forming these relationships online; it's an entirely different… show more.