In the 2010s, adolescent mental health deteriorated sharply across many countries, with significant rises in depression, anxiety, self-harm, and suicide. What changed during that decade? Social psychologist Jonathan Haidt addresses this urgent question by examining how childhoods once centered on play gradually became dominated by smartphones, social media, and digital immersion.

Drawing on extensive research, Haidt explores how this shift has affected children’s social and neurological development, contributing to sleep deprivation, social isolation, fragmented attention, and addictive behaviors. He also outlines practical and actionable steps for parents, schools, technology companies, and governments to help confront this crisis and restore healthier, more human-centered childhoods.

Generation Anxiety is a compelling call to reclaim a more balanced and humane life for the next generation—and, ultimately, for society as a whole.