THE NO.1 SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER 'Jonathan Haidt is a modern-day prophet disguised as a
psychologist . . . He points the way forward to a brighter stronger future for us all' Susan
Cain'Compelling readable - and incredibly chilling . . . remarkably persuasive' Telegraph
'Urgent and essential' Guardian 'One of the most terrifying books I have read . . . some of the
statistics Haidt quotes are truly shocking' Evening Standard 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.
