All About “The Anxious Generation”: A Must-Read for Parents

Research about Anxiety in Children

Jonathan Haidt’s motivation for writing The Anxious Generation stemmed from his research on how smartphones and social media have reshaped societies, amplifying vulnerabilities in democratic systems. Initially, he planned to address the impact on adolescents within a single chapter of a broader book. However, upon recognizing the significant decline in adolescent mental health, he decided this issue warranted a dedicated volume.

The research graphs below clearly illustrate the rise in anxiety. The increases are dramatic across all age groups, especially those for children.

Key Insights and Actionable Ideas for Parents from The Anxious Generation

1. Encourage Unsupervised Play

Haidt emphasizes the importance of free play in developing resilience and coping skills. Allowing children to engage in unstructured, unsupervised activities helps them learn risk assessment and fosters independence. Let them try hard things and get messy – that is how kids build confidence in their own ability. 

2. Limit Screen Time

Excessive use of smartphones and social media correlates with increased anxiety and depression. Implementing boundaries around screen time, especially before bedtime, can improve sleep quality and overall mental health. Schools are helping with this now to with policies like away for the day. When you consider a phone is most often used for games and chatting – we wouldn’t let students play cards and talk with friends during class – or at dinner or while doing homework or when they should be falling asleep. 

3. Promote In-Person Social Interactions

Face-to-face interactions are crucial for emotional development. Encourage your children to spend time with friends in person rather than relying solely on digital communication. Our moms and dads had that right – go outside and play is solid parenting!

4. Model Healthy Technology Use

Children often emulate their parents’ behaviors. Demonstrate balanced tech habits by setting aside device-free times and spaces within the home. Unless you are on call for the hospital, make an effort to instead choose a book or craft or hide n seek or discuss something interesting from your day.

5. Foster Open Communication

Create an environment where your child feels comfortable discussing their online experiences, both positive and negative. This openness can help you guide them through digital challenges. Share your own experiences. Who among us hasn’t had feelings when browsing Pinterest or researching fitness goals?

Criticism of The Anxious Generation

This blog is meant to be a simple summary of the book that has garnered so much attention. However, it is important to note Haidt’s critics argue that he took advantage of very real phenomena – depressed and anxious children, over attachment to technology, disconnection from other humans – to make a broad indictment of smartphones, when it’s not as simple as that. His research has been criticized as vague, lacking nuance, over-generalized, and prone to fearmongering.

All of that said, this book has brought attention to an area that has been a concern for parents since the beginning. I bet all parents today remember our own parents telling us to get off the computer/tv/video game/phone already!

My feeling is that we should consider all the information, then apply our own knowledge and our relationships within our family to face the challenge. How do we raise happy, connected kids in the digital age?

Technology is here to stay, so we need to learn, keep on learning, and teach our kids to do the same. Help them to become conscious consumers who understand the pros and cons of the tools and toys available.