In 'The Anxious Generation', Jonathan Haidt examines the sudden decline in the mental health of adolescents starting in the early 2010s. He attributes this decline to the shift from a 'play-based childhood' to a 'phone-based childhood', highlighting mechanisms such as sleep deprivation, attention fragmentation, addiction, loneliness, social contagion, and perfectionism that interfere with children’s social and neurological development. Haidt proposes four simple rules to address this issue: no smartphones before high school, no social media before age 16, phone-free schools, and more opportunities for independence, free play, and responsibility. The book offers a clear call to action for parents, teachers, schools, tech companies, and governments to restore a more humane childhood and end the epidemic of mental illness among youth.
How to Raise Kids Who Aren't Assholes is a deeply researched, evidence-based primer that provides a fresh perspective on parenting issues from toddlerhood through the teenage years. Science journalist Melinda Wenner Moyer outlines the traits parents want their children to possess, including honesty, generosity, and antiracism, and offers scientifically-based strategies to instill these characteristics. The book blends cutting-edge science with accessible stories and actionable tips to help parents raise children who are kind, compassionate, and capable of building a better future.
Raising grounded, thoughtful kids in today’s chaotic world is no small task.
In this episode, Emily talks with award-winning journalist and author Melinda Wenner Moyer about her new book, Hello, Cruel World: Science-Based Strategies for Raising Terrific Kids in Terrifying Times.
Melinda shares practical, research-based tools to help parents guide their children through media influence, bias, and the challenges of social media and technology.
It’s a powerful conversation filled with real-world strategies for raising compassionate, critical-thinking kids who can thrive, even when the world feels upside down.
Listen and Learn:
- How can parents raise compassionate, resilient kids when the world feels increasingly chaotic and uncertain?
- Understanding how bias and polarization form in kids is key to raising thoughtful, inclusive humans
- Why kids develop biased thinking and how family conversations can counter social media's influence
- How listening to your kids can reduce extremism, build empathy, and shape a better future
- Ways to talk with your kid about bias and hate language, even if they don't open up easily
- The importance of getting your kids to team up with diverse friends on projects to help them see past biases
- Teaching kids media literacy helps them think critically
- Research often misrepresents social media harm, but parent-child bonds shape kids’ real tech experience
- Managing kids’ tech means by balancing connection, autonomy, and open talks, not just strict rules
- Melinda’s hope for parents embracing open talks and respect, shaping a stronger, kinder generation
Resources:
About Melinda Wenner Moyer
Melinda Wenner Moyer is an award-winning journalist whose work explores the intersection of science and everyday life. She’s known for her deep dives into subjects that have both scientific and societal implications, addressing issues that are relevant to parents, families, and the general public. Melinda is a contributing editor at Scientific American magazine and a regular contributor and former columnist at The New York Times. Her first book, How To Raise Kids Who Aren’t Assholes, was published in July 2021 and won a gold medal in the 2022 Living Now Book Awards. Her second book, Hello Cruel World!: Science-Based Strategies for Raising Terrific Kids in Terrifying Times, will be published on May 27, 2025. She lives in New York's Hudson Valley.
Related Episodes:
390. Raising Empowered Girls in a Sexist World with Jo-Ann Finkelstein
381. Reimagining Boyhood with Ruth Whippman
382. The Anxious Generation? The Conversation We Should Be Having About Kids, Technology, and Mental Health
377. How to Raise a Citizen with Lindsey Cormack
317. Growing Up in Public with Devorah Heitner
256. Social Justice Parenting with Traci Baxley
214. How to Raise Kids Who Aren’t Jerks with Melinda Wenner Moyer
398. Finding Joy in Your Relationship with Money with Elizabeth Husserl
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Psychologists Off the Clock 
