A review by booksrockcal
The Anxious Generation: How The Great Rewiring of Childhood is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness by Jonathan Haidt

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad fast-paced

5.0

This is an eye opening book about the effects of smart phones and social media on children. I really had no idea as our children just missed this era of giving 10!year olds smart phones. The author talks about the impacts of moving away from play based childhood that were further exacerbated by the advent of smart phones and social media apps that absorb children and in some cases lead to destructive behavior. This book should be a wake up call to parents, teachers and the govt all of whom have the power to restrict the use of smart phones. The author doesn’t just identify the problem, he proposes solutions - schools should be phone free. Parents should restrict screen time for children (it’s actually surprising what recommended restrictions look like -2 hour limit for 4 year olds? How much are they watching). Social media should be off limits to all those younger than 16 and that age limit should be enforced. Schools should have more free play time and parents should give their children more freedom to traverse their environment on their own. An excellent book that I thank my daughter, a teacher, for compelling me to read.