The Coddling of the American Mind
by Greg Lukianoff, Jonathan Haidt · first published 2018
47% recommend43% neutral10% critical
Why HN recommends it
Data-backed explanation of rising anxiety and campus safetyism, tracing it to overprotective parenting, less unstructured play, and social media. Suits parents and anyone puzzled by campus and online polarization.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
"Something is going wrong on many college campuses in the last few years. Rates of anxiety, depression, and suicide are rising. Speakers are shouted down. Students and professors say they are walking on eggshells and afraid to speak honestly. How did this happen? First Amendment expert Greg Lukianoff and social psychologist Jonathan Haidt show how the new problems on campus have their origins in three terrible ideas that have become increasingly woven into American childhood and education: what doesn't kill you makes you weaker; always trust your feelings; and life is a battle between good peo
Affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Mentions per year
What Hacker News says
Related books
2018–2026The strange death of Europe
Douglas Murray
Recommended by 4 · mentioned by 64 recommend · 6 mention4 recommend · 64 recommend
2022True Biz
Sara Novic
Recommended by 2 · mentioned by 22 recommend · 2 mention2 recommend · 22 recommend
2022–2023How to Be Perfect
Michael Schur
Recommended by 3 · mentioned by 43 recommend · 4 mention3 recommend · 43 recommend
2017–2025Reviving Ophelia
Mary Pipher
Recommended by 3 · mentioned by 53 recommend · 5 mention3 recommend · 53 recommend
2016–2023Spark Joy
Marie Kondo
Recommended by 3 · mentioned by 43 recommend · 4 mention3 recommend · 43 recommend
2020–2025The Midnight Library
Matt Haig
Recommended by 4 · mentioned by 84 recommend · 8 mention4 recommend · 84 recommend
…Parents started to become overprotective somewhere in the late 90's and it's only getting worse. Kids don't learn to deal with setbacks anymore. So the real world overwhelms them. There's a book, The Coddling of the American Mind, that explains the problem much better than I do. "First Amendment expert Greg Lukianoff and social psychologist Jonathan Haidt show how the new problems on campus have their origins in three terrible…
on “Depression, anxiety rising among U.S. college students” ↗…weak, many people cannot find other gigs and so flood into the relative security of teaching. Teaching may also be less pleasant in the social media and smartphone age, for reasons enumerated in The Coddling of the American Mind (a highly recommended book). There may also be a gender dynamic at work; today, it would be hard for me to recommend that guys go into teaching: https://jakeseliger.com/2014/09/08/why-dont-more-men-go-into....
on “Teachers Quit Jobs at Highest Rate on Record” ↗This is a good time to recommend some supplementary reading: The Coddling of the American Mind[1], a book that does a great job of outlining what has changed in the last 30 years and why there is very much a generational gap at play with how people perceive themselves. It turns out, raising kids…
on “Why People Feel Like Victims” ↗The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas Are Setting Up a Generation for Failure [1] by Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt I didn't necessarily agree with all of it but it helped me understand the changes I've…
on “Ask HN: Best books you read in the past decade?” ↗…had a high school experience in the US more like the Latin American one. Something is changing about the US, and it's rotten. There's a book that presents a good overview of some of these changes: "The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas Are Setting Up a Generation for Failure" (by Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt).
on “School or Prison” ↗Related to this, deeply focused on the American experience: The Coddling of the American Mind > (...) ideas that have become increasingly woven into American childhood and education: What doesn’t kill you makes you weaker; always trust your feelings; and life is a battle between good people and…
on “Don’t teach kids to fear the world” ↗…and truth, and attempting to silence people for the sake of keeping the feelings of others intact is not a trade off that's worth making. A book I read that was very informative on the topic was "The Coddling of the American Mind" by Jonathan Haidt - I'd highly recommend looking into it.
on “Politically-correct witch-hunt is killing free speech” ↗I really recommend you all look up the work of Social Phycologist Jonathan Haidt. Specially his work regarding his book “The Coddling of The American Mind.” In it he covers the consequences of over-protective parenting on today’s American youth and how those consequences have spilled over onto college campuses in the form of over-protective policies. As…
on “The Enduring Myth of Stranger Danger” ↗* The Coddling of the American Mind by Jonathan Haidt Tries to explain the reasons behind all the "triggering" and safe spaces phenomenon on college campuses * Escape from Freedom by Erich Fromm WWII as the outset, one of the topic discussed…
on “Ask HN: Favorite nonfiction books of 2018?” ↗…about being afraid to voice their opinions for fear of being ostracized or punished on grades. It's enlightening to read through a few issues of The College Fix [2]. Relevant interesting book is The Coddling Of The American Mind by Jonathan Haidt and Greg Luka off. But it gets really entertaining when you watch some youtube videos on this subject, for example the great, 3-part, documentary[3] by Mike Nayna. [1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawrence_Summers…
on “Diversity and the Death of Free Speech” ↗…safetyism and overprotection is a fragile human. One that is less able to cope with the challenges and messiness and nuance of the real world. That negative feedback loop has led to quite a mess. The Coddling of the American Mind does an excellent deep dive on all this: https://www.amazon.com/Coddling-American-Mind-Intentions-Gen...
on “Screens Are Bad for Young Brains” ↗…and with college just around the corner adulthood feels incredibly overwhelming. I highly recommend you look up the work of Social Phycologist Jonathan Haidt. Specially his work regarding the book “The Coddling of The American Mind.”
on “The Enduring Myth of Stranger Danger” ↗Right. Every generation blames the next (a tale as old as time), while not examining their role in it. Which would be much more productive. See Jonathan Haidt's book "The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas Are Setting Up a Generation for Failure" for an insightful examination.
on “Millennials Didn’t Kill the Economy. The Economy Killed Millennials” ↗For anyone curious in an in-depth look at how we got here and the unintended consequences, check out Jonathan Haidt's book "The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas Are Setting Up a Generation for Failure". This gets into what happens when these kids leave home and no longer have parents bulldozing their path. Here's a short talk…
on “Mom Lets Her Kids Walk to the Bakery Down the Block. CPS Chastises Her” ↗The Coddling of the American Mind which he co-wrote with Greg Lukianoff is an important book about problems faced by the current college-age generation and the effects that social media, helicopter parenting, and certain ideologies have…
on “Ask HN: What books changed the way you think about almost everything?” ↗