Book Review – “The Anxious Generation – How The Great Rewiring Of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic Of Mental Health”

Updated – Sept, 2024

CAVEAT – We purchased a copy of Dr Haidt’s book the day it was released, and we were anxious to read it from cover to cover, which we did twice to provide this review for parents who follow us.

As digital literacy and internet safety advocates who help parents and caregivers navigate the challenges of raising youth in today’s onlife world, we share the frustration of many in trying to pinpoint the sources of the sadness, pain, anxiety, and depression reported by this generation of young people. Yes, it’s alluring to pursue straightforward explanations, yet the truth is, the “why” often encompasses a much more complex reality.

The onset and progression of mental disorders among young people, such as anxiety and depression, stem from a complex interplay of genetic predispositions and environmental influences. It’s not a matter of one singular cause but rather a multifaceted array of factors shaping their mental well-being.

In examining societal influences on our kid’s mental health, social psychologist Dr. Jonathan Haidt in his new book “The Anxious Generation – How The Great Rewiring Of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic Of Mental Health” (1), puts forward a thesis that the three factors that he believes can explain the prevalence of mental health issues among youth are #1 cellphones, #2 social media, and #3 the lack of free range play by youth.

Although Dr. Haidt’s book is skillfully crafted, with some engaging anecdotal and hypothetical stories to support a narrative, it’s crucial to acknowledge his professional and respected background is as a social psychologist. Dr. Haidt expertise mainly surrounds, “the evolutionary origins of human moral reasoning on the basis of innate, gut feelings rather than logic and reason”(2), and not the emotional and psychological effects that technology has on youth. Self-admittingly, Dr. Haidt is not a specialist in clinical psychology, child development, or media studies. By his own admission, Dr. Haidt stated in a recent interview, talking about his book on the Joe Rogan show, that he only really became involved in this topic area, specific to youth, in and around 2019. (3)

To draw a parallel, if we were to liken Dr. Haidt to a medical professional, he would resemble a general practitioner when it comes to understanding the emotional, psychological, and physical linkages to technology and social media when it comes to youth, akin to a family doctor, rather than a specialized medical practitioner like a neurosurgeon – yes, there are psychologists internationally who specialize in this area of study. Therefore, it is important for parents, caregivers, and educators to situate Dr. Haidt’s thesis and conclusions in his book, within the wider framework of interdisciplinary research on adolescent mental health, particularly when it comes to cellphones and social media. He has collected and amalgamated insights from diverse academic sources to bolster his “interpretations” of the research presented in his book to support his thesis as a social psychologist. The fact remains that Dr. Haidt is a moral psychologist and professor of business ethics with no scholarly expertise in social media or youth.

In reading the book, we found at times that Dr. Haidt did voice some generalized opinions and assumptions to support his thesis that just is not factually correct. As an example, Dr. Haidt’s assertion in Chapter 1, on page 39, paragraph 3 where he wrote, “Let’s start with Canada, which shares much of its culture with the United States” which in fact is true. However, his subsequent claim that Canada lacks many of America’s potentially damaging sociological and economic features, such as a high level of economic insecurities, is just not accurate. In fact, many of the sociological and economic challenges present in the United States can also be found in Canada during the timeframes of 2010 and 2015 that he really emphasizes was the era of the “Great Rewiring of Childhood” that caused the epidemic of mental illness in our kids.

Dr. Haidt’s statement regarding Canada’s avoidance of America’s frequent wars in his book is also factually not correct. Although we may not have started these wars, Canada has historically stood proudly alongside the United States in various military conflicts, including notable engagements such as Desert Shield, and Desert Storm, as well as the conflict in Afghanistan. The sacrifice of Canadian servicemen and women in support of the United States underscores the depth of our commitment to Canadian involvement in US military operations.

In the same paragraph on page 39, Dr. Haidt concludes with a statement that we have found to be factually inaccurate as well. He asserts, “Canada also largely avoided the effects of the global financial crisis.” However, this statement does not accurately reflect Canada’s experience during the global financial crisis.

While it is true that the United States bore the brunt of the financial crisis in 2008, we here in Canada were not immune to its effects as he believes we were. Despite some notable differences, the economic woes that plagued both countries shared striking similarities.

One of the most notable distinctions between the Canadian and American experiences of the recession was the impact on their respective housing markets. Unlike the United States, where the collapse of the housing bubble sent shockwaves through the economy, Canada remained relatively insulated from such catastrophic events. While Canadians did not witness the same precipitous drop in housing prices or widespread foreclosures, we still felt the sting of the economic downturn.

Before the crisis hit, the Canadian dollar was riding high, trading on par with its US counterpart. However, by 2009, it had depreciated by 20%, reaching a low of $0.80 US. This sharp decline reflected the broader economic turbulence facing our nation.

Despite not facing the same magnitude of challenges as the US, Canada still experienced severe declines in output and employment. The collapse of oil prices and other commodity exports further compounded the effects of the financial crisis, pushing the Canadian economy into recession by October 2008.

One crucial factor that buffered Canada’s banking sector from the brink of collapse was its robust regulatory environment. Unlike our American counterparts, Canadian banks were not teetering on the edge of insolvency. The strength of Canada’s banking regulations ensured a level of stability that helped mitigate the worst effects of the crisis.

However, this stability did not come without a cost. A study revealed that Canada’s banks received substantial support from both the US and Canadian governments during the crisis, with three major Canadian banks—CIBC, BMO, and Scotiabank—requiring significant assistance to stay afloat, approximately 114 billion in cash.(4) Government support exceeded the market value of these banks at certain points, underscoring the severity of the situation. This was why we didn’t have a banking crisis.

Furthermore, the recession took its toll on Canadian society, with poverty levels on the rise. According to Pasma (2010), poverty increased from 9.2% in 2007 to 11.7% in 2009, highlighting the human cost of economic downturns.

Why is this important, because in his book, Dr. Haidt suggests that economic stressors cannot be deemed to be a substantial factor contributing to the surge in youth anxiety and depression, citing their variability across different countries. Instead, he contends that the only consistent element worldwide between 2010 and 2015, that he suggests precipitated and caused the mental health crisis among youth – the widespread adoption of smartphones, increased access to social media platforms, and the over-coddling of parents when it comes to their kids.

If social media and cellphone usage were indeed causally linked to the increasing prevalence of teenage anxiety and depression, as proposed by Dr. Haidt’s concept of “the great rewiring of teen brains,” one might wonder why his thesis does not uniformly manifest across different countries with similar technological adoption rates as he suggested in his book. Take South Korea, for instance, where youth engagement with technology and smartphones mirrors that of North America. Surprisingly, unlike the USA or Canada, anxiety and depression rates among South Korean youth exhibited a steady decline from 2005 to 2015 – something that Dr Haidt does not mention in his book, although he does mention other countries. (29) Although there was a slight uptick between 2015 and 2019, it prompts us to question Dr. Haidt’s theory. (5) Additionally, considering that rates of depression and suicide were notably higher in South Korea, and several other countries, before the introduction of the smartphone compared to afterward, Dr. Haidt’s explanation faces further scrutiny – if it wasn’t smartphones or social media then what was the cause? The fact remains that across Europe as well as Australia, New Zealand and Canada, there is no pattern that indicates an increase in suicides among teens during the social media age.(19)

As Dr. Tyler Black (Medical Director of the CAPE Unit at BC Children’s Hospital and BC Mental Health and Substance Use Services, Suicidologist, and specialist in Paediatric Emergency Psychiatry) stated in a tweet specific to youth suicide and suicidal ideations:

“2017 was lower than 2015, and 2019 is lower than 1999. The idea that media, social media, technology, or whatever else luddites hate is strongly correlated with increasing suicidal thinking in kids is ahistorical and dishonest.”

Another interesting fact, here in Canada, youth suicide rates have remained fairly stable until about 2020 when we experienced a slight increase.(6) Also of interest, David Wallace-Wells, bestselling science writer and a columnist for The New York Times brought to light that with the introduction of the American Affordable Care Act in 2010, in which most major provisions were phased in by January 2014, there was a change in measuring mental health in the United States. As David Wallance-Wells stated in an interview:

“…as part of the rollout of the Affordable Care Act, it was recommended for the first time that primary care physicians screened teenage girls for depression annually. And that meant that you just immediately started seeing a significant rise in the number of people who were being identified as depressed, being referred to other doctors for treatment for depression, but also if they were to come into contact with the hospital system, they would be regarded as someone with a history of depression.” (26)

Dr. Haidt has urged others to offer a “reasonable” explanation for the rise in depression and anxiety among youth if cellphones are not the cause. In our opinion, Wells has presented one such reasonable and plausible explanation for some of the increases.

Another inconsistency, again echoed in the Joe Rogan podcast where Dr. Haidt was talking about his new book he stated, and we paraphrase, “There were some psychologists in the past that disagreed with me but now they don’t” (3). Again, this is just not factually correct. Many psychologists who are actual expert researchers in this field of study continue to strongly disagree with most of Dr. Haidt’s thesis in his book – such experts include Dr. Candice Odgers (7)(23), Dr. Etchells (8), Aaron Brown (9)(32), Mike Masnick (10), Dr. Amy Orben (11), Dr. Anthony Vaccaro (24), Dr. Tobias Dienlin (25), and others (12)(30)(31)

Contrary to Dr. Haidt’s narrative in his new book, there’s insufficient evidence to support his claims that smartphones and social media are fundamentally rewiring children’s brains or fueling a mental health epidemic.(13) In fact, the discoveries from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development study, the most extensive longitudinal examination of adolescent brain development in the United States, have revealed no substantial evidence of significant alterations linked to the use of digital technology.(14)(28) Also, in an interview with Nick Gillespie, When questioned by Aaron Brown, Dr Haidt stated “… Some of the studies I am relying upon are flawed – you’re are absolutely right. The Google Doc that Zack and I and Jean Twenge created is not a met-analysis.” as well Dr. Haidt stated, “… If your skepticism is just we have not conclusively proven the causal link, that is a reasonable position to hold today” (15)

We do believe that Dr. Haidt’s thoughts on overprotective parenting and the decline of free-range play, as discussed in his book, contribute to the inadequate development of resiliency in our children. These insights are highly pertinent to parenting in today’s digitally immersed world, and we have found is supported by robust evidence-based research.

We also agree that Dr. Haidt’s perspectives and suggestions in his book regarding changes to major technology companies are sensible, including advocating for stricter content moderation policies and emphasizing the importance of companies considering user age in platform and algorithm design—a principle known as “safety by design.”

However, we believe that Dr. Haidt’s 4 reforms that he speaks about in his book have some challenges, and therefore we do not wholly support them as digital literacy and internet safety advocates. Here are Dr. Haidt’s 4 reforms and our thoughts:

#1 – No smartphones before high school:

We don’t think that an age or grade level milestone should dictate when a youth is ready for a smartphone (16). As Dr. Devorah Heitner stated:

“A birthday milestone, or some far-off date in the future will not ensure your child’s readiness for the responsibility that comes having the entire world a swipe away. Instead, consider independence milestones—ways for your child to demonstrate readiness.

Here are some milestones to consider:

Making lunch without help
Walking home from school alone
Spending a brief time home alone
Babysitting a younger child for short windows of time
Riding public transit independently
Organized with homework

If your child is demonstrating independence in many of the above milestones, they could be ready or ready soon. If not, you can consider setting progressive milestones for your child to work towards to demonstrate readiness.”

As paediatrician Dr. Natasha Burgert stated:

Rather than thinking of a specific age as the benchmark, reframe the decision with the developmental readiness of your child in mind. Before buying a smartphone for your child, consider attributes that are associated with more successful digital use.

Milestones I consider important for smartphone readiness include:

Having more ability for complex thoughts and improved reasoning
Starting to understand tone, idiom and sarcasm
Developing their own solutions
Demonstrating early long-range planning
Showing signs of empathy, or thinking of others
Developing a stronger sense of right and wrong
Showing more interest in and influence by their peer group
Responding appropriately to limits and boundaries
Improved communication for wants and needs

If your child is beginning to show these developmental skills, or there is a family situation in which digital connection is necessary, it may be time for the phone.

We must emphasize that we do believe in a graduate approach to the type of cellphone that is provided to a youth (17) We also believe that for pre-teens and younger teens a “minimalist” rather than a “fusion” phone is likely going to be a more desirable option (18) It’s all about “know” technology rather than “no” technology. It’s also about ensuring the right technology at the right developmental stage of your child.

#2 – No Social Media Before The Age Of 16

Again, using a blanket age milestone for a terms of use policy may be appropriate for a specific social media platform, it is not, however, reasonable for a youth who may want to access an age-appropriate social media platform or messaging app such as Kinzoo, and the plethora of others that are out there which we would consider to be very appropriate for those under the age of 16 years.

#3 – Phone Free Schools

Again, in most cases, we do not endorse a blanket policy such as a “phone-free school”- we support a balanced moderated policy which is supported in the research that Dr. Haidt doesn’t mention in his book (19)

#4 – More Independence/Free Play Outside

As mentioned previously in this review, this is something that we can strongly support and is echoed in the good academic research!

It’s crucial to acknowledge the severity of the mental health crisis facing today’s youth and the urgent need for evidence-based interventions. While Dr. Haidt’s narrative will unfortunately resonate with many parents and caregivers, it’s vital to approach it critically and recognize the limitations of the oversimplified explanations that he provides for in his book, especially when it comes to causation.

As a parent or caregiver, who may not be keeping up with reputable academic research from experts in this field of study, would I view this book as the definitive answer to the question of “why” we are seeing an increase in anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideations in our youth? – YES I would!

However, as parents, educators, and policymakers, we must resist the temptation to latch onto convenient scapegoats like social media and cellphones as “the” cause of youth anxiety and depression. Instead, we must invest in comprehensive approaches that address the complex array of factors contributing to adolescent mental health challenges based upon the good evidence-based research (7)(20). As one critic of Dr Haidt’s book stated, “The book is compelling for parents, but it falls short because it values story over science.” (12)

While Dr. Haidt’s book is garnering widespread attention in the media, especially among parents who are already scared and concerned about the youth mental health crisis and believe that cellphones and social media are the cause, it is our belief that this book will only strengthen those beliefs and fears. It’s essential that parents, caregivers, and educators view the assertions made in Dr. Haidt’s book with a grain of salt, and within the broader context of the large scientific research and evidence-based practice that Dr Haidt neglected to mention in his book.

Suggesting that smartphones and social media are “the” reason for causing the “great rewiring of childhood” and “Causing an epidemic of mental illness”, a type of argument that we would call technology absolutism, fails to address the underlying issues driving adolescent behavior and mental health. Only by embracing the complexity of adolescent mental health can we truly make meaningful strides toward supporting the well-being of young people. Do cellphones and social media have a part to play? – sure they do, for “SOME” youth but not for “MOST” youth!

In fact, a recent comprehensive 2024 study has delved into the global dynamics of internet access and its relationship with overall well-being.(21) Analyzing data from 2006 to 2021, involving a vast sample of over 2.4 million participants aged 15 and above, the findings have cast a light on this complex relationship. The results overwhelmingly indicate a positive correlation between internet connectivity and various dimensions of well-being. This research found 84.9% of these correlations were positive, with only 0.4% showing negative associations and 14.7% deemed statistically insignificant. While causation remains elusive, it’s notable that individuals with internet access reported 8.5% higher measures of life satisfaction. Despite this positive trend, and as mentioned, there were observations of negative associations 0.4%, particularly among “some” young women aged 15-24, concerning community wellbeing, mirroring previous findings on the link between social media use and depressive symptoms in this demographic. Overall, while vigilance regarding online activities remains essential, these findings underscore the potential of the internet to positively impact various aspects of well-being when utilized responsibly.

Our concern lies in the possibility that Dr. Haidt’s assertions that he makes in his book regarding smartphones and social media as the primary cause of the rise in anxiety, depression, and overall mental health challenges amongst our youth, could divert our attention from effectively addressing the genuine underlying multifactorial causes of the current mental health crisis in young people today – we can’t take our eyes off the ball!

Dr Haidt’s thesis is a concept known as “technological determinism” which posits that technology dictates societal development. In the fields of media and technology studies, this theory is largely seen as outdated and inaccurate. However, it persists due to its ability to offer straightforward and simplistic explanations for complex events. (27) This is not to suggest that technologies do not impact social change—they certainly do. However, attributing a complex issue like youth mental health to a single cause is overly simplistic. Instead, we suggest a more holistic approach to improving young people’s health and well-being, considering the full range of their lives and concerns. As Dr Aaron Brown stated about the majority of the research found in Haidt’s book (32):

“What Haidt has done is analogous to what the financial industry did in the lead-up to the 2008 financial crisis, which was to take a bunch of mortgage assets of such bad quality that they were unrateable and package them up into something that Standard & Poor’s and Moody’s Investors Service were willing to give AAA ratings but that was actually capable of blowing up Wall Street. A bad study is like a bad mortgage loan. Packaging them up on the assumption that somehow their defects will cancel each other out is based on flawed logic, and it’s a recipe for drawing fantastically wrong conclusions.”

Yes, social media can be harmful for some, but to understand it better, we need to hear from those directly affected. Let’s give them a voice to share their experiences. Instead of limiting social media for everyone based on general stats, we should focus on their specific issues

As Dr. Pete Etchells (Professor of Psychology and digital tech researcher) has stated:

“So instead of asking, does social media use cause mental health issues? perhaps a better question might be: why do some people prosper online while others get into real difficulty?”

We continue to believe, based on “all” of the current research to date, that a “well-balanced”, and age/development-appropriate approach to technology that encourages youth agency, alongside parental modeling, communication, participation, and the monitoring of their child’s technology and online activity (22), offers more benefits than drawbacks for the vast majority of our youth online!

Digital Food For Thought

The White Hatter

References:

1/ https://www.amazon.ca/Anxious-Generation-Rewiring-Childhood-Epidemic/dp/0593655036/ref=sr_1_1

2/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonathan_Haidt

3/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jOC-RyoBcbQ

4/ https://policyalternatives.ca/newsroom/updates/study-reveals-secret-canadian-bank-bailout#:~:text=The%20study%20reveals%20that%20Canada’s,the%202008%2D2010%20financial%20crisis.

5/ https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1054139X2300109X

6/ https://health-infobase.canada.ca/mental-health/suicide-self-harm/suicide-mortality.html#sm_trends

7/ https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-00902-2

8/ https://thewhitehatter.ca/blog/a-book-review-unlocked-the-real-science-of-screen-time-and-how-to-spend-it-better-by-dr-pete-etchells/

9/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XoiZ1nqryfk