“After more than a decade of stability or improvement, the mental health of adolescents plunged in the early 2010s. Rates of depression, anxiety, self-harm, and suicide rose sharply, more than doubling on most measures. Why?”
The Anxious Generation author Jonathan Haidt has answered this question with his fascinating book about why children need play and independent exploration to mature into competent, thriving adults. “Play-based childhoods” have been replaced by phone-based childhoods,” says Haidt.
Haidt explores more than a dozen influences by which this “great rewiring of childhood” has impacted children’s social and neurological development, covering everything from sleep deprivation to attention fragmentation, addiction, loneliness, social contagion, social comparison, and perfectionism.
You don’t have to be a parent to find this an enthralling read. If you’re like me, and you’ve watched this rising generation and asked the same questions about the quality of their mental health, then you’ll appreciate Haidt’s fascinating research and perspective. I found his data about the impact of social media and smartphones just as applicable to me; I just have an adult brain that’s a little more equipped for regulating my technology use. Here’s a video of Haidt discussing his work surrounding the book.
Another great book about your mindset
I’ve recommended Stolen Focus by Johann Hari in the past, but I couldn’t help but remind you of this terrific book in light of our month’s theme about the importance of your mindset. Click here to see why I loved this book.
Your brain is a muscle: start exercising your growth mindset
An honorable mention for this podcast: “Mastering Growth Mindset with the Huberman Lab.” This is a great conversation with Dr. David Yaeger who talks about a growth mindset and our ability to improve performance. Check out the recording at 11:00 minutes into the interview when Yeager talks about the intervention sessions that he offers.
