The Anxious Generation
by Jonathan Haidt · first published 2024
40% recommend50% neutral10% critical
Why HN recommends it
Makes the case that smartphones and social media algorithms harm teen mental health, and that kids need more free play and independence offline. Parents and educators cite it when setting phone limits and age rules.
Common criticism: Critics say the research doesn't firmly support its causal claims about social media
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
After more than a decade of stability or improvement, the mental health of adolescents plunged in the early 2010s. Rates of depression, anxiety, self-harm, and suicide rose sharply, more than doubling on many measures. Why? In The Anxious Generation, social psychologist Jonathan Haidt (pronounced "height") lays out the facts about the epidemic of teen mental illness that hit many countries at the same time. He then investigates the nature of childhood, including why children need play and independent exploration to mature into competent, thriving adults. Haidt shows how the “play-based chil
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This trend is about to reverse. Jonathan Haidt’s The Anxious Generation and other books and investigations on the topic of childhood smartphone usage are only starting to get traction. Try to hold out as long as you can.
on “Google releases smart watch for kids” ↗If you are going to quote Jonathan Haidt, I suggest you take a look at his latest book, the Anxious Generation published in 2024. My reading is that reducing face time is definitely NOT a positive factor for happiness.
on “More disabled Americans are employed, thanks to remote work” ↗…school; they don't seek out IRL activities; and my 17 year old has no interest in getting his driver's license. I have tried limiting screen time (and I took a lot of good lessons from Jonathan Haidt's The Anxious Generation[0]). They've both got ample opportunities for therapy (depression runs in the family, the eldest has various diagnoses, etc.) and for engagement with peers. They simply don't make and develop friendships.…
on “Mourning and moving on: rituals for leaving a career (2014)” ↗Someone commented above, but Jonathan Haidt "the anxious generation" is a place to start for a deeper analysis on the issue. Here is part 1 of a 3 part series of posts of his. I can't speak to the correlations and study directly, but Haidt's work is probably what you're…
on “No evidence social media time is correlated with teen mental health problems” ↗…will need a smartwatch until high school, or a phone till very late HS. In other words, I think there is a balance of these options possible. Jonathan Haidt gives a lot of hope here, as depressing as "Anxious Generation" usually is.
on “The TikTok documents: Stripping teens and boosting 'attractive' people” ↗Yeah, that seems to be the premise of the recent book "The Anxious Generation" by Jonathan Haidt. I only read the first chapter or so, but seems to be pretty convincingly the case, and really harmful for kids mental health. Personally, I don't post on social media, and I ask my…
on “Dramatic drop in marijuana use among U.S. youth over a decade” ↗If you’re tempted to think “this isn’t worth it, too hard to enforce without affecting something else”… read “The Anxious Generation” by Jonathan Haidt. There is very real, irreparable harm being done to young people, and it merits trying to make it right, not just surrendering to it. Surely the problem of verifying a property of…
on “Australia: Kids under 16 to be banned from social media after Senate passes laws” ↗…two sittings — it was that impactful. A reminder of how the oppressed becomes the oppressor again and again. "As it happens, you can See the world but never see the people in it" Other highlights: The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt; re-read Thinking in Systems by Daniella Meadows; re-read Wherever You Go There You Are by Jon Kabat Zinn; The light eaters by Zoe Schlanger; I don't want to talk about it, by Terrence…
on “Ask HN: What were the best books you read this year?” ↗I just finished reading Jonathan Haidt’s “The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Caused an Epidemic of Mental Illness.” It is a good read, especially for parents. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Anxious_Generation
on “The average American spent 2.5 months on their phone in 2024” ↗I see the opposite trend, as the (imo much needed) shock from Jonathan Haidt's 'The Anxious Generation' is only starting to really resonate in the minds of educators and parents. No smartphones allowed at school, strict usage limits for older kids at home, etc.
on “The effect of deactivating Facebook and Instagram on users' emotional state” ↗Have a look at Jon Haidt's book The Anxious Generation. He makes the case rather well that we need to cut out the safetyism in the physical world while getting serious about it in the online world. It's not some abstract matter of the morality of kids' digital…
on “Australia widens teen social media ban to YouTube, scraps exemption” ↗As a parent, I found "The Anxious Generation" by Jonathan Haidt insightful and eye-opening.
on “Ask HN: What were the best books you read in 2025?” ↗Reading Jonathan Haidt's 'The Anxious Generation' broke me. I have two kids, still far too young for smartphones, but his book and all of the surrounding research has made me DRASTICALLY alter the way I use my own smartphone and will shape the way I…
on “Kids who own smartphones before age 13 have worse mental health outcomes: Study” ↗You're getting some mild heat in sibling comments here. Jonathan Haidt's book The Anxious Generation goes into a lot of detail on this exact point about parental responsibility. There are others that touch on personal vs. societal responsibility too and the difficulties with parental/personal moderation…
on “TikTok settles just before social media addiction trial to begin” ↗I suggest you read The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt. As much as it is damaging to adults, it's much more so to children in early development all the way through puberty. https://www.anxiousgeneration.com/
on “Jury told that Meta, Google 'engineered addiction' at landmark US trial” ↗