Who it’s for: the general population, educators, people with kids birth through teen.
This is book contains simultaneously extremely important information and horrifying statistics. Author Jonathan Haida, is a social psychologist and author who specializes in moral psychology and emotions. The genesis of this book came when he was faced with significant research correlating adolescent anxiety and depression rates with the introduction of smart phones and social media.
Haidt gives us graphs, data, and personal anecdotes to drive home the point that smart phones and social media are detrimental to the adolescent brain and development. Girls are more affected by social media while boys are more affected by video games. Girls become self-conscious, depressed, and obsessed with how they look different from filtered celebrities on the internet. Where boys become disconnected from the real world by immersing themselves in video games.
Haidt calls parents, educators, and legislators to action by advising that children don’t get smart phones until high school, that schools be “phone-free” where kids cannot access their phones for the entire school day, and that the minimum age that kids can sign up for a social media account be raised to 16, from the current legal age of 13. He also gives parents guidelines on what level of independence they should give their children at different ages. He emphasizes the importance of unsupervised play so kids can find their own balance and rules among peers, rather than being told how to play a game by an adult. Personal opinion here: as a mom who listens to true crime and is therefore terrified of what could happen to my kids anywhere, I only agree with that strategy somewhat. I still want to know that my kids are safe and can reach me if something happens. Haidt is supportive of kid-friendly smart watches that can call parents, have GPS, and can call emergency services if needed.
If you work with kids or are related to kids, this book is for you. The unspoken fears we have are showing evidence. Haida helps us begin to understand and map boundaries for the next generation.
