Reviews with content warning for Addiction - The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness

I’m not really sure how relevant the observations and advice in this book will be in a couple of generations. I think our current younger generations (mostly whom will be unaware of the practices outlined) will figure out how to get through life in different ways out of necessity. What we know about child development will change epigenetically. So I’d be interested in testing this book against the world in about 30 years. Until then, what’s provided seems infinitely beneficial. I can already see it play out in my life a little - my older nephew learned to read and write in Korean as a toddler on YouTube, but there’s a distinct and immediately noticeable difference between him and my niece who only knew Elmo through books and only started getting screen time probably at age four or five, and it was one episode of Daniel Tiger a week and a yoga program she did with her dad. My niece is a lot more excited about new experiences and meeting new people. There are many factors that distinguish them, but I’ve kind believed their access to screen times was a big contributor.

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vireogirl's review against another edition

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challenging hopeful informative reflective sad medium-paced

4.0

Wow, super depressing on smart phones may be affecting the brain development of children. The ideas to fix it seem doable. I hope he's able to get a conversation started that makes a difference.
There is a surprisingly magical chapter in the middle of the book. It is called Spiritual Elevation and Degradation. "The phone-based life produces spiritual degradation...in all of us." He goes on to talk about collective effervescence and how being together lifts us to a different plane. It was inspiring, and I was surprised to see it between the depressing facts and the practical steps.

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razkat's review against another edition

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informative reflective medium-paced

3.5

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overbookedmama's review against another edition

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challenging informative slow-paced

3.0

It pains me to say that like most parenting and non-fiction books I read, this could’ve been a blog post. Jonathan Haidt explores several key ideas including the decline of play-based childhoods and the rise of phone-based childhood which disrupts social, emotional, and cognitive development in adolescents, leading to increased anxiety and depression. Some of the negative impacts of social media he calls out are comparison and perfectionism, sleep deprivation, attention deficit, and cyberbulling. Interestingly, he reprimands today’s helicopter parents and says a culture of risk aversion has made children more vulnerable. It’s more important now to foster resilience and encourage independence to give them skills to navigate challenges in life. Haidt recommends that parents reduce screen time now for younger children and delay smart phones until age 16, encourage unstructured play, model coping and problem-solving skills, and freshen up on critical media literacy skills. Most of the tips in the book were things parents hear over and over again. It’s up to us to prioritize face-to-face interactions, set clear boundaries surrounding screen use, and lead by example. I’m a proponent of having open dialogue with my children even though they’re quite young. I’m seeing their attention being impacted by their iPad use and I’m glad that their schools are phone-free. There was a good amount of fear mongering in this book but I think the author uses it to drive his point home. The Anxious Generation is rooted in opinions but does provide some data behind the author’s claims. I’m not sure how I feel about the inclusion of gender differences and the impact of social media on girls vs. boys. I think you could skip this chapter if you’re skeptical.

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