Jonathan Haidt on How to Free the Anxious Generation (Part Two)

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May 1, 2025

In this engaging discussion, Jonathan Haidt, a social psychologist and bestselling author renowned for his insights on morality and technology's effects on youth, tackles the mental health crisis afflicting today's young individuals. He links the rise in adolescent distress to a decline in free play and the rampant use of smartphones. Haidt offers practical strategies for parents and educators to combat these challenges. This conversation illuminates how to reclaim agency in a digital age and fosters hope for a brighter future for the anxious generation.

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INSIGHT

Elephant vs. Rider Metaphor

Human minds have an 'elephant and rider' where intuition (elephant) often overrides reason (rider).
Agency grows when we set conscious decisions that guide our powerful intuitive impulses.

INSIGHT

God-Shaped Hole and Youth

The "God-shaped hole" refers to human yearning for meaning and connection beyond the material.
Social media fills this void with harmful content, increasing spiritual emptiness among youth.

ADVICE

Raise Age Limits and Verify

Implement device-based age verification to prevent underage access to harmful content.
Raise the minimum age to 16 for social media with companies responsible for age checks.

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“This great rewiring of childhood, I argue, is the single largest reason for the tidal wave of adolescent mental illness that began in the early 2010s.” — Jonathan Haidt

The mental health of young people has become one of the most pressing issues of our time. In recent months, debates have raged about the impact of smartphones on adolescent wellbeing: Should they be banned in schools? Should children under 14 or 16 even have access to them? These questions have fuelled a growing movement to address the crisis in youth mental health — and no one has done more to lead this conversation than American social psychologist Jonathan Haidt.

Haidt’s groundbreaking book, The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness, has topped bestseller lists on both sides of the Atlantic, sparking urgent conversations among parents, educators and policymakers. Drawing on years of research, Haidt argues that the dramatic rise in adolescent mental distress is linked to two seismic shifts: the decline of free play in childhood and the proliferation of smartphones.

As the paperback edition of The Anxious Generation hit the shelves, Haidt returned to the UK to share a hopeful message: it’s not too late to act. In conversation with BBC journalist Jonny Dymond, he outlined practical strategies for parents, teachers and teenagers to counter the forces eroding mental wellbeing — and inspire a new generation to thrive.

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