Jonathan Haidt’s The Anxious Generation argues that the 2010–2015 “great rewiring” shifted childhood from play-based to phone-based, correlating with rising anxiety, depression, sleep loss, and social fragmentation in Gen Z. In this education-focused review, we explain the four core harms (sleep, social, attention, addiction), the “hook model” behind behavioral addiction, and practical fixes for classrooms, parents, and policy.
You’ll also hear concrete solutions—phone-free schools, design-code “duty of care,” raising digital adulthood to 16, and stronger age verification—plus a critique the book underplays: how comparison culture and rejection anxieties fuel incel spaces. If you care about youth mental health, parenting, and digital well-being, this is your field guide.
Links
Purchase the book: https://amzn.to/45qdhKb (Affiliate disclosure: we may earn from qualifying purchases at no extra cost.)
Newsletter: https://tospeakonline.com/newsletters/
More at ToSpeakOnline.com — become a member to support our work.
Stay Readical!
What You’ll Learn
What the “great rewiring” (2010–2015) is and why it matters
The four harms of a phone-based childhood (sleep, social, attention, addiction)
How the “hook model” keeps us checking—and how to disrupt it
Why in-person rituals and synchronous turn-taking build social competence
Six restorative practices: sacredness, embodiment, stillness, transcendence, forgiveness, awe
Evidence-based school fixes (phone lockers beat “put it away”)
Policy tools: age-appropriate design codes, age-16 digital adulthood, robust age checks
The overlooked link between comparison culture, rejection, and incel communities
Chapters
00:00 Introduction
00:58 The “Great Rewiring” (2010–2015) + Mental-Health Trends
01:42 From Play-Based to Phone-Based Childhood
02:36 The 4 Harms: Sleep, Social, Attention, Addiction
02:55 Sleep Deprivation
03:19 Social Deprivation: Rituals, Handshakes, Respect
04:15 Digital vs IRL
06:03 Attention Fragmentation
07:09 Addiction
07:32 The Hook Model
08:12 Spiritual Elevation vs Degradation
09:10 Six Restorative Practices
12:14 Solutions
14:09 Missing Piece: Incels, Comparison, and Rejection
15:55 Final Takeaways
Resources & Sources
Haidt, J. (2024). The Anxious Generation (book)
Haidt’s overview: https://jonathanhaidt.com/anxious-generation/
CDC Data Brief (adolescent mental health): https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/databriefs/db471.htm#section_1
Pew Research (teens, social media, tech): https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2022/08/10/teens-social-media-and-technology-2022/
NIDA research repository (context on behavioral data): https://nida.nih.gov/research/nida-research-programs-activities/nahdap-data-repository-for-drug-addiction-and-HIV-research
Statista (subscription): https://login.statista.com/login/callback?state=ad5yQFix22AjzxUnHEyhWnEYPw_HwNjU&error=INVALID_IP&error_description=ip-not-authorized-for-login
Literature review (open access): https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10355843/
