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hefarrell1's review against another edition
informative
reflective
medium-paced
3.75
I found this book engaging and informative. The message is presented with clarity and although most of the content affirms what we already feel and know to be true, it’s nevertheless a valuable (and quite concerning) reflection on the impact of a social media driven world. I liked the structure and felt the solutions offered were a step in the right direction, offering some hope. I work in education and reading this book felt like dots were connecting— it certainly resonated. I’ve also tried to spend much more time in pure silence and away from my phone since reading this book, recognising the constant over stimulation and the impact it’s having on my own mental health. So on a personal and professional level, I’d recommend this book. It’s easy to digest with some interesting nuggets of information, but at times I found it a little repetitive and would have liked even more depth.
kimberashton's review against another edition
Amazing book but very technical. Will go back one day to highlight and finish.
angelsplash's review against another edition
challenging
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
A must read for everyone, parents, teachers, and young adults. The language of this book is both harrowing and hopeful. Haidt shows us the horror of what phones have taken from the GenZ generation and their parents. But he also shows us the light at the end of the tunnel, we just have to run towards it. He offers lots of ways we can change things for the better and even admits how hard some of these changes can be for parents specifically. But it's worth it to get our children back from the addictive nature of phones (ironic since I'm using a phone for this). Genuinely recommend everyone read this!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction, Bullying, Self harm, and Suicide attempt
hanamidori's review against another edition
challenging
dark
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.75
just_fiona's review against another edition
challenging
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
3.5
This book has been interesting - it's made me feel very uncomfortable knowing that I am essentially addicted to my phone. Even whilst reading this book I found myself reaching for it, checking. For what? I don't know. However I don't think it has taught me anything I didn't know - it has just made me think and face a few things a little more.
The trouble with this book is I feel that it doesn't really do a great deal to really help. It can be repetitive and I don't feel really digs deep enough. There was a whole chapter on spirituality which I skipped as it felt far too much like his personal opinion rather than anything actually relevant.
His basic premise is that since the introduction of smart phones, social media that more young people are feeling depressed and anxious.
Haidt writes from a perspective of "back in my days/the good old days" which I think takes away some credibility. Some of the scientific research he admits is on shaky ground - which he dismisses in favour of his own opinion.
Now - I think we will all agree that too much screen time for kids is not a good thing in isolation. And social media is no replacement of in-person communication especially with young people. Yet I feel Haidt over-simplifies it as just "all social media is bad" and doesn't delve much deeper than this.
I think most parents will be aware of this, even if they don't always act on it. It is hard to when we are all probably a little too dependent on our own phones ourselves.
I think many parents are not aware of the benefits of risky play and I would agree that "safetyism" is very detrimental to young people, probably more so than a phone. Risky play is allowing your kids to climb, to fall down, to get minor scrapes and cuts and bruises and explore their environment. Allowing your kids to climb, jump and make their own judgements.
Schools need to allow more time for free-play and that children's lives shouldn't be taken up with homework and academic study - at least not until they are older.
Overall - I think this is a good book to read - but it is not the complete story.
The trouble with this book is I feel that it doesn't really do a great deal to really help. It can be repetitive and I don't feel really digs deep enough. There was a whole chapter on spirituality which I skipped as it felt far too much like his personal opinion rather than anything actually relevant.
His basic premise is that since the introduction of smart phones, social media that more young people are feeling depressed and anxious.
Haidt writes from a perspective of "back in my days/the good old days" which I think takes away some credibility. Some of the scientific research he admits is on shaky ground - which he dismisses in favour of his own opinion.
Now - I think we will all agree that too much screen time for kids is not a good thing in isolation. And social media is no replacement of in-person communication especially with young people. Yet I feel Haidt over-simplifies it as just "all social media is bad" and doesn't delve much deeper than this.
I think most parents will be aware of this, even if they don't always act on it. It is hard to when we are all probably a little too dependent on our own phones ourselves.
I think many parents are not aware of the benefits of risky play and I would agree that "safetyism" is very detrimental to young people, probably more so than a phone. Risky play is allowing your kids to climb, to fall down, to get minor scrapes and cuts and bruises and explore their environment. Allowing your kids to climb, jump and make their own judgements.
Schools need to allow more time for free-play and that children's lives shouldn't be taken up with homework and academic study - at least not until they are older.
Overall - I think this is a good book to read - but it is not the complete story.
mycahroni's review against another edition
4.0
ngl i thought this book would be very cringe but it actually wasn’t too bad! i like the writing style; it is very digestible. i find his takes very interesting, although i disagree a little on letting kids that young out into the world unsupervised. perhaps the people he talked to didn’t have really bad experiences as a child… how nice.
as someone who struggled with social media and developed self esteem issues in middle school and high school, i agree that kids don’t need access to smartphones at such a young age. i worry for gen alpha though.
minus one star for being a yap fest at times. would have liked more discussion on trans youth too.
as someone who struggled with social media and developed self esteem issues in middle school and high school, i agree that kids don’t need access to smartphones at such a young age. i worry for gen alpha though.
minus one star for being a yap fest at times. would have liked more discussion on trans youth too.