The Anxious Generation
How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness
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Narrated by:
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Sean Pratt
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By:
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Jonathan Haidt
About this listen
Brought to you by Penguin.
An urgent and insightful investigation into the collapse in youth mental health, from the influential social psychologist and international bestselling author
After more than a decade of stability or improvement, the mental health of adolescents in many countries around the world deteriorated suddenly in the early 2010s. Why have rates of depression, anxiety, self-harm and suicide risen so sharply, more than doubling in many cases?
In this book, Social Psychologist Jonathan Haidt argues that the decline of free-play in childhood and the rise of smartphone usage among adolescents are the twin sources of increased mental distress among teenagers.
Haidt delves into the latest psychological and biological research to show how, between 2010 and 2015, childhood and adolescence got rewired. As teens traded in their flip phones for smartphones packed with social media apps, time online soared while time engaging face-to-face with friends and family plummeted, and so did mental health. This profound shift took place against a backdrop of diminishing childhood freedom, as parents over-supervised every aspect of their children’s lives offline, depriving them of the experiences they most need to become strong and self-governing adults.
The Anxious Generation reveals the fundamental ways in which this shift from free-play to smartphones disrupts development – from sleep deprivation to addiction – with separate in-depth analyses of the impact on girls and boys. Grounded in ancient wisdom and packed full of cutting-edge science, this eye-opening book is a life raft and a powerful call-to-arms, offering practical advice for parents, schools, governments, and teens themselves.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.
©2024 Jonathan Haidt (P)2024 Penguin AudioCritic reviews
What listeners say about The Anxious Generation
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- Sandra Hill
- 20-07-24
Eye Opening
We have taken action based on this book, will you? Let’s stop imprisoning our children.
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- Matt
- 05-05-24
A timely and important book
A refreshing push back against the pervasive intrusion of negative kinds of technology use into every sphere of childhood. I am hopeful this work will continue to inspire movements for change.
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- ThaB
- 14-06-24
Essential reading for modern parents!
This book deserves widespread recommendation among parents and educators! It's an eye-opener that helps people understand the negative impact of a phone-based childhood. If many parents come together and prevent their kids from using digital devices, the next generation might not feel the same peer pressure to use one.
As a stepparent to 2 teenagers, I felt like the author was describing their current behaviour as if he knew them personally. The insights into the challenges and pressures faced by today's youth were spot-on and incredibly relatable.
What stood out to me most was the practical advice the author provided. I also have a 3-year-old son, and I am determined to put into practice the recommendations regarding no screens, no social media, and the importance of a play-based childhood. The emphasis on fostering a healthy, balanced environment for children was both reassuring and motivating.
This book is an invaluable resource for any parent or guardian navigating the complexities of raising children in today's digital age. I highly recommend it to anyone looking to understand and support their kids better.
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- Anonymous User
- 03-09-24
Best read in a while
The writing style and narration are smooth and easy to digest. I loved the succinct summaries at the end of each chapter.
It’s a wonderfully practical and educational book - highly recommend!
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- Steven B.
- 30-09-24
most informative book I've ever read
I listened to this after James Obrien mentioned it on LBC and as the father of a three year old boy it's been a real eye opener and will affect how I parent my child from here on in. I think it is the most informative book I've ever read, not only regarding parenting techniques to avoid making the mistakes that have led to the anxious generation but it's also helped my understanding of why social media especially for children is so toxic, why incels are how they are and has given me a lot to think about on the trans debate. fascinating reading and a book every parent of young children in 2024 should read.
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- Steven Sheehan
- 07-09-24
Timely
Full of reasoned and evidenced insights. Just the right length too. Jonathan Haidt clearly cares about this issue and provides workable responses to it. Strong recommendation, especially if you’re a parent to young children /teens or an educator.
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- Amazon Customer
- 02-10-24
The sad reality we are in
Great book to educate everyone on how technology affects our childrens and suggestions on how collectively we can change our childrens childhood to a play based instead of a YouTube based childhood.
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- Amazon Customer
- 29-04-24
Very important book
All parents, teachers, headmasters should read this and we all need to come together to make changes for our children.
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- Winnie
- 07-05-24
so good. everyone should listen and implement
such an important book giving insight into the harms that are befalling young people. also gives suggestions for simple and easy interventions to mitigate the damage.
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- Super Spur
- 02-07-24
Research-based, expertly presented insight with a huge scoop of common sense. Perfect for educators and parents alike.
Most parents and educators can see this already but Jonathan frames the discussion with such expert clarity and abundant research and amazing insight. It is just so helpful and enables those who care for children to really understand the issues and talk about them with confidence……and to be proactive in addressing phone based/technology based childhoods in a common sense way. Thank you
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