
The Anxious Generation
How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness
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Narrated by:
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Sean Pratt
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By:
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Jonathan Haidt
About this listen
Brought to you by Penguin.
An urgent and insightful investigation into the collapse in youth mental health, from the influential social psychologist and international bestselling author
After more than a decade of stability or improvement, the mental health of adolescents in many countries around the world deteriorated suddenly in the early 2010s. Why have rates of depression, anxiety, self-harm and suicide risen so sharply, more than doubling in many cases?
In this book, Social Psychologist Jonathan Haidt argues that the decline of free-play in childhood and the rise of smartphone usage among adolescents are the twin sources of increased mental distress among teenagers.
Haidt delves into the latest psychological and biological research to show how, between 2010 and 2015, childhood and adolescence got rewired. As teens traded in their flip phones for smartphones packed with social media apps, time online soared while time engaging face-to-face with friends and family plummeted, and so did mental health. This profound shift took place against a backdrop of diminishing childhood freedom, as parents over-supervised every aspect of their children’s lives offline, depriving them of the experiences they most need to become strong and self-governing adults.
The Anxious Generation reveals the fundamental ways in which this shift from free-play to smartphones disrupts development – from sleep deprivation to addiction – with separate in-depth analyses of the impact on girls and boys. Grounded in ancient wisdom and packed full of cutting-edge science, this eye-opening book is a life raft and a powerful call-to-arms, offering practical advice for parents, schools, governments, and teens themselves.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.
©2024 Jonathan Haidt (P)2024 Penguin AudioListeners also enjoyed...
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Excellent listen - detailing our experiences in the real world
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Eye opener for parents
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Convincing
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That there’s a problem is without doubt. That it’s due to the causes presented by Haidt is near certain. That there are possible solutions is welcoming.
Thank you for writing this! 🙏🏼
One of the MOST IMPORTANT books of our time!
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A necessary read for anyone with a phone
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His final two calls to action are entirely apt: speak up, and link up.
Marvellous. Uplifting. Packed with insight, from the first word to the last
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Narrator is just so damn good.
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Awakening
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Very good read I recommend this book to anyone wanting to raise healthy children.
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I'm grateful that I read this before my own children reach this age so that I can implement his suggested strategies and better model healthy tech usage. I am also a teacher in an SEMH provision, and most of the parents and educators I speak to regarding the apparent mental health crisis amongst young people are quick to point to COVID as the primary cause, however I tend to agree with Haidt that the problems really started about 10 years earlier when smart phones became ubiquitous. His call to action would require a significant challenge to current social norms, but the hope lies in collective change and coordination between parents, schools and government policymakers. As such, I cannot recommend this title strongly enough.
Compulsory reading for all generations
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