Is it worth it? The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt

Giving your kids a personal device is like sending them to Mars alone according to Haidt. Is this something I can get on board with?

Welcome to Is it worth it? If you've ever been skeptical about self-help/finance/business/productivity books or find non-fiction a slog to get through, this is the sub-newsletter for you. Let me read it and I'll let you know if it's any good.

Today we’re taking a look at The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt!

What’s it about?

The Anxious Generation is written by American Social Psychologist Jonathan Haidt and looks at the link between social media and technology use amongst adolescents and young people, and the sudden deterioration of their mental health stats starting in the 2010s.

Through what feels like a lot of correlatory data, Haidt outlines how this Great Rewiring of childhood has caused an epidemic of mental illness.

Why did I read it?

I spotted it in the Bestie section of my local library, which means it’s a new or bestselling book. The Anxious Generation is also a New York Times Bestseller and has been pretty extensively covered online due to it’s content and how it touches on a popular topic.

Should you read it?

Maybe. I think if you’re a parent or someone involved in governance, policy or a non-profit that works with young people, this would be a good book to pick up. There’s some value to pull from The Anxious Generation, including interesting ideas or pitches to mull over, but I would be very wary of how Haidt seems to oversimplify the relationship between deteriorating mental health and the rise of personal devices.

Not enough detail, too much correlation

This book suffers from the classic struggle I find in some non-fiction books, particularly of a social science nature, and that is the inclusion of detail but not the kind of detail that you want or find interesting/relevant. It has graphs that don’t illuminate much, slightly flat and unconvincing commentary, and the chapters step on each other’s toes, partially I think because Haidt co-wrote some of them with other people, meaning they can retread the same ground without meaning to.

The Anxious Generation feels like a long read even though it’s not (under 300 pages if you cut out the Notes and References sections), which speaks to the vaguely meandering and repetitive nature of it.

Haidt tries to convince us that the rise of personal devices and social media in the 2010s is to blame for a corresponding decline in the mental health of adolescents (he counts 10-20yr olds in this category), but only focuses on evidence that backs up his claims and central theory. There is no nuance or reference to other factors that might impact mental health, just a ‘judgement already made.’ Say it with me now, ‘correlation is not causation.’

In the contemporary vernacular, The Anxious Generation is full of Haidt’s reckons. He’s getting at a point but isn’t providing the level of detail you’d want for something that makes such a bold claim. So is there anything good to take out of this book?

The take aways

Letting kids play unsupervised

Despite its main premise, The Anxious Generation doesn’t just talk about technology. It also refers to the loss of child directed free play. Think playgrounds and roaming the streets with your friends, unsupervised or lightly monitored hang outs with your peers and making things out of found objects. It was this that I found the most interesting take away from the book - a reminder of the importance of community, socialisation, and subsequent risk taking, confidence building and growth for children.

What we can all do to protect young people

In the second half of the book, Haidt turns an eye to what governments, parents, schools, and communities can do to manage device use and improve adolescent wellbeing. At its core, he calls for four foundational reforms:

1. No smartphones before high school (or college in NZ)

2. No social media before 16

3. Phone-free schools

4. More unsupervised play and childhood independence

These are all incredibly sound suggestions that I’d support because, even though I don’t love the way that Haidt has set up his arguments in The Anxious Generation, I do recognise that social media can have a huge negative impact on young people. Delaying access to it and providing other sources of entertainment and social interaction are things I can get behind.

It’s these reforms and Haidt’s unpacking of them that I think make The Anxious Generation worth a read particularly for parents, educators, and public office workers, if only to engage with them so you can form your own opinion. We’re always looking for solutions to the mental health issues affecting youth today, and this book at least offers some.

Final thoughts

The Anxious Generation felt long, wordy and slightly hyperbolic, but there are still some nuggets in there that are worth a peek at. If you pick up this book, I recommend reading the parts that seem interesting to you. Maybe you’re a parent who already knows a lot about how social media is designed to capture our attention and encourage addictive behaviour and you just want some solutions. You could go straight to Chapter 12: What Parents Can Do Now. Or you work in a school and want to know how you can better support kids’ learning. Go direct to Chapter 11.

As an adult with no kids, I don’t exactly read a lot of parenting books, but I am deeply interested in mental health and how we can replace negative experiences with more positive ones. I also have kids in my life through friends and family and (shockingly, I know) want them to have a good life, so books like The Anxious Generation speak to me when I see them on the shelf. Whether it speaks to you is a different matter.

Not everyone online has appreciated Haidt’s take on this topic, which I can appreciate. Have you read another book that also touches on the same topic that you think is worth a read? Or have you read The Anxious Generation and have reckons of your own? Would love to hear about it in the comments.

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What should I read next?

Is there a popular or oft-cited book that you think I should read next? Let me know!