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

challenging informative reflective slow-paced

3.0

Long winded but informative analysis of the effect of social media, smart phones, digital pornography access and the general always-on always-available effect on developing children. Jonathan Haidt hypothesizes that the Great Rewiring started around 2010 and developing preteens with the introduction of the iPhone and all the apps (Instagram, Facebook, Youtube, etc) that came along with that evolution in technology. I, myself, am a child of the 80s and 90s and do in fact remember a time before internet. As a mother of 2 small preteen children, I hear his cautions loud and clear and can see some of the negative impacts on my kids having access to tablets and smart phones. His recommendation has several elements: schools being a no phone zone, digital detox periods (dinner time, 30 mins before bed), encouraging free play and independence (think of how kids in the 90s would come home when the streetlights came on) and encouraging kids to play face to face with other kids. It is unrealistic to ban all access or monitor kids activities 100% of the time, but preteen and early teen period is especially critical as they develop habits, self worth, interpersonal relationship skills etc. Instagram was cited as particularly negative for girls and contributed the most to depression and anxiety because of the platform's lean towards showcasing bodies/lifestyle/unattainable goals. Meta and others have spent ridiculous amounts of energy to try and keep adults and kids alike hooked up to the dopamine provider of social media (and the likes, engagements, validation) all to drive smarter customer intelligence to sell to advertisers. I work in marketing and can absolutely tell you - any consumer is the product and that is why you get presented on social media/promotional emails with that obscure toaster you mentioned offhand in a conversation. They are watching you and reporting EVEYRTHING. All this today say - social media can be fun but for young, developing minds try to limit exposure as much as possible. Hell, I probably need my own social media detox period to improve my mental health.