The Anxious Generation

Jonathan Haidt is a social psychologist known for his work on morality, culture, and the psychology of political and social divisions. He studied philosophy at Yale University before earning a Ph.D. in psychology from the University of Pennsylvania in 1992, where he researched moral emotions under renowned psychologist Paul Rozin. His postdoctoral work at the University of Chicago and in India shaped his theories on moral intuition and cultural psychology. Haidt taught at the University of Virginia before joining NYU’s Stern School of Business. His books include The Righteous Mind (2012), which explores moral and political psychology, and The Coddling of the American Mind (2018), which examines the impact of overprotection and social media on young people. In The Anxious Generation (2024), he argues that smartphones and social media have rewired childhood, leading to a rise in anxiety and depression among Gen Z. Through his research, Haidt advocates for reforms to restore resilience and well-being in modern adolescence.

The Anxious Generation is deeply connected to the rise of smartphones and social media, particularly the period between 2010 and 2015, when platforms like Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok became dominant among adolescents. This era saw a fundamental shift in how young people socialized, as face-to-face interactions declined and digital communication became the norm. Haidt links this technological transformation to a dramatic increase in adolescent anxiety, depression, and self-harm, arguing that it marks the most significant societal change in childhood development since the industrial revolution. The book also examines the broader history of parenting trends, particularly the rise of “safetyism” in the 1980s and 1990s. During this period, concerns about crime, abduction, and physical harm led to highly structured, supervised childhoods, limiting children’s independence. Laws like the 1984 Missing Children’s Assistance Act and media coverage of high-profile child abductions contributed to the decline of free play. Haidt argues that by overprotecting children in the physical world while underprotecting them online, society has left Gen Z uniquely vulnerable to digital addiction and social isolation. Haidt also connects the current crisis to past examples of harmful consumer products that were later regulated, such as leaded gasoline, asbestos, and tobacco. He suggests that just as governments eventually acted to mitigate these dangers, similar measures are needed to address the harms of social media. His book situates the smartphone era within a long history of unchecked technological shifts that reshaped human behavior before their full consequences were understood.

Jonathan Haidt’s The Anxious Generation builds on themes explored in The Coddling of the American Mind (2018), which he co-wrote with Greg Lukianoff. Both books examine the psychological fragility of young people, but The Anxious Generation focuses more specifically on the role of technology in reshaping childhood. Haidt’s work also aligns with Jean Twenge’s iGen (2017), which argues that the mental health crisis among Gen Z is linked to the rise of smartphones and social media. Twenge provides extensive data showing how adolescence has changed in the digital era, complementing Haidt’s arguments. Similarly, Johann Hari’s Stolen Focus (2022) critiques how modern digital culture, including social media and algorithm-driven content, erodes attention spans and disrupts deep thinking. Haidt’s book also draws from older works in psychology, including Nassim Nicholas Taleb’s Antifragile (2012), which argues that individuals and societies grow stronger through adversity. Haidt applies this idea to childhood, suggesting that overprotection and digital dependence have made young people more vulnerable to stress. Additionally, Albert Bandura’s social learning theory, which emphasizes the importance of role models in shaping behavior, is central to Haidt’s discussion of how social media algorithms distort adolescent development by prioritizing influencers over real-world mentors.