The Next Big Idea Best Of: Jonathan Haidt on What Social Media Is Doing to Our Kids
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Sep 11, 2025 
Jonathan Haidt, a social psychologist at NYU, reveals startling insights from his bestseller, 'The Anxious Generation.' He connects the surge in teen depression rates to the rise of social media and smartphones since 2012. As he discusses the harm social media inflicts on childhood development, he emphasizes the need for collective action from parents and educators. Haidt also critiques the tech industry's impact on youth and advocates for protective regulations, pointing out the significant gender differences in mental health experiences amid this digital landscape.
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Sharp Mental-Health Shift Around 2012
- Teen mental-health statistics spiked sharply beginning around 2012, coinciding with smartphones and social apps becoming widespread. Heavy social-media users, especially girls, show much higher rates of depression and suicidal planning.
Puberty Timing Explains Generational Differences
- Gen Z largely experienced puberty with smartphones and social media, unlike millennials who finished puberty with flip phones. That timing explains why mental-health and education trends diverged after 2012.
Try Phone-Free School Experiments
- Run controlled trials where whole middle schools go phone-free to measure effects on wellbeing and learning. Use evidence from phone-free schools which report louder lunchrooms, more laughter, and better attention.
