The anxious generation : how the great rewiring of childhood is causing an epidemic of mental illness Cover Image

Book

The anxious generation : how the great rewiring of childhood is causing an epidemic of mental illness / Jonathan Haidt.

Summary:

"After more than a decade of stability or improvement, the mental health of adolescents plunged in the early 2010s. Rates of depression, anxiety, self-harm, and suicide rose sharply, more than doubling on most measures. Why? In [this book], social psychologist Jonathan Haidt lays out the facts about the epidemic of teen mental illness that hit many countries at the same time. He then investigates the nature of childhood, including why children need play and independent exploration to mature into competent, thriving adults. Haidt shows how the 'play-based childhood' began to decline in the 1980s, and how it was finally wiped out by the arrival of the 'phone-based childhood' in the early 2010s"-- Provided by publisher.

Record details

ISBN: 9780593655030
Physical Description: 385 pages : illustrations, charts ; 26 cm
Publisher: New York : Penguin Press, 2024.
Copyright: ©2024

Content descriptions

Bibliography, etc. Note:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 301-367) and index.

Formatted Contents Note:

Introduction: Growing up on Mars -- Part 1: A tidal wave -- The surge of suffering -- Part 2: The backstory: the decline of the play-based childhood -- What children need to do in childhood -- Discover mode and the need for risky play -- Puberty and the blocked transition to adulthood -- Part 3: The great rewiring: the rise of the phone-based childhood -- The four foundational harms: social deprivation, sleep deprivation, attention fragmentation, and addiction -- Why social media harms girls more than boys -- What is happening to boys? -- Spiritual elevation and degredation -- Part 4: Collective action for healthier childhood -- Preparing for collective action -- What governments and tech companies can do now -- What schools can do now -- What parents can do now -- Conclusion: Bring childhood back to Earth.