Wellbeing

The Anxious Generation

"How the Great Rewiring of Childhood is causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness."

Over the holidays, I read Johnathan Haidt’s new book 'The Anxious Generation'. It is a fascinating yet disturbing read, and I would recommend this to any parent dealing with the day-to-day issues of smartphones and parents considering the right age to purchase one for their children.

Here is an extract of the first paragraph: 

“Imagine that your 10-year-old daughter gets chosen to join the first human settlement on Mars. She’s ready to blast off but needs your permission.

You learn that the billionaire architect of the mission hasn’t considered the risks posed by the red planet’s toxic environment, including kids developing “deformities in their skeletons, hearts, eyes and brains.

Would you let her go?”

Mars is the stand-in word for Haidt’s world of social media. Haidt’s book tracks the decline of mental illness in our youth stemming from the introduction of social media on smartphones in 2010. He steps through the different impacts of technology on boys and girls and explains why young adolescent girls are hit the hardest and the impact of pornography on our young men. 

The final section of the book offers advice on reducing the harmful aspects of technology, including online predators. His strong advice on not allowing children access to social media until the age of 16 has encouraged some important discussion in Australia amongst politicians, adolescent psychologists and educators. 

Whether or not you agree with his perception that our youth are on a “tidal wave of suffering,” this is a very thought-provoking read and a possible wake-up call for society about some of the dangers of the digital world. 

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