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A review by boodschappenlijst
The Anxious Generation: How The Great Rewiring of Childhood is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness by Jonathan Haidt
informative
1.0
I'm sorry to burst the bubble of many who enjoyed this, but the numbers and research cited in this absolutely DO NOT hold up. A pretty plausible hypothesis is overshadowed by the complete misinterpretation of data and results to prove one specific point. Case in point: The graph in chapter 1 about unemployment and depression rates is made with data from two unrelated studies and cannot be used to draw the conclusion that 'economic circumstances can't possibly explain the increase in adolescent mental health problems'.
The worst thing is that Haidt is an academically-published author: He knows the rigorous standards for evidence and deliberately chose to NOT adhere to them for this book. Combine that with a self-aggrandizing writing style and you got yourself a wonderful mess of pop psychology that is eaten up by laymen but scrutinized by academic peers. There's so much stuff I could go into but others have done it before me and much better. The commentary piece "Do smartphones really cause mental illness among adolescents? Ten problems with Jonathan Haidt’s book" is one of them.
The worst thing is that Haidt is an academically-published author: He knows the rigorous standards for evidence and deliberately chose to NOT adhere to them for this book. Combine that with a self-aggrandizing writing style and you got yourself a wonderful mess of pop psychology that is eaten up by laymen but scrutinized by academic peers. There's so much stuff I could go into but others have done it before me and much better. The commentary piece "Do smartphones really cause mental illness among adolescents? Ten problems with Jonathan Haidt’s book" is one of them.