Bring back the good old days of childhood without phones

In his new book, “The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness,” Jonathan Haidt argues that kids today are not alright. The rise of anxiety and depression among adolescents between 2010 and 2015 has been alarming, with rates increasing sharply while older cohorts remain unaffected. Only one-third of college students reported feeling anxious less than half the time or never, indicating a widespread issue.

Haidt points to the smartphone era as a key factor in this mental health crisis. Gen Z is the first generation to grow up with constant access to social media, which has fundamentally altered their relationships and sense of self. The book argues that being “forever elsewhere” on social media has transformed human consciousness in profound ways, particularly during the critical learning period of pre-puberty.

Additionally, Haidt suggests that overprotective parenting and the decline of unsupervised play have also contributed to the mental health struggles of today’s youth. Children need to take risks, face acute stress, and engage in face-to-face interactions to build emotional resilience, but these opportunities have dwindled in the age of smartphones and social media.

To address this crisis, Haidt calls for governments and tech companies to recognize the harms of excessive screen time and social media use among teens. He suggests raising the minimum age for social media platforms to 16 and delaying the introduction of smartphones until high school. Creating phone-free schools and promoting childhood independence and play are also essential steps to combatting the epidemic of anxiety and depression among today’s youth.