The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt

The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness by Jonathan Haidt — the #1 bestselling investigation into the collapse of youth mental health and a clear plan to restore a healthier childhood.

Something went wrong for the generation born after 1995. Rates of anxiety, depression, self-harm, and suicide among teenagers have soared since the early 2010s. In this groundbreaking and deeply researched book, social psychologist Jonathan Haidt argues that the rapid shift from a play-based childhood to a phone-based childhood — combined with overprotective parenting — has “rewired” young brains and left a generation more fragile, anxious, and isolated than any before it.

Haidt draws on a wealth of data, international comparisons, and psychological research to show how smartphones and social media disrupted the normal developmental processes of childhood and adolescence. He then offers practical, evidence-based solutions for parents, schools, and policymakers — including four new norms that can help reverse the damage and give children the free play, real-world independence, and delayed smartphone access they need to thrive.

Urgent, clear-eyed, and ultimately hopeful, The Anxious Generation has sparked a global conversation and a growing movement to protect childhood. Essential reading for parents, educators, and anyone concerned about the mental health of the next generation.