Book Journey: The Anxious Generation

In his book The Anxious Generation, social psychologist Jonathan Haidt presents facts regarding the widespread epidemic of adolescent mental illness that simultaneously affected many countries. He then investigates the nature of childhood, including the reasons why play and self-discovery are essential for kids to grow up to be capable, successful people. In the early 2010s, the "phone-based childhood" eventually replaced the "play-based childhood." He lays out over a dozen ways that this "great rewiring of childhood" has hampered kids' social and neurological growth. 

The concept of this book fits with my mentality as a mother and provides a solution to my uneasiness in this online setting. I believe it is critical to delay handing phones to my daughters and instead allow them to explore and play like normal children. The fact that girls are more adversely affected by social media than boys makes it much worse.

This book provides a foundation for a healthier childhood in the digital age. They are:

1. No smartphones before high school. Parents should delay children's entry into round-the-clock internet access by giving only basic phones (limited apps and no internet browser) before ninth grade (roughly age 14).
2. No social media before 16. Let kids get through the most vulnerable period of brain development before connecting them to a firehose of social comparison and algorithmically chosen influencers.
3. Phone-free schools. That is the only way to free up their attention for each other and for their teachers.
4. Far more unsupervised play and childhood independence. That's the way children naturally develop social skills, overcome anxiety, and become self-governing young adults.

It would be challenging, but at least we should try!