Book Group: The Anxious Generation

The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt

Book Club, September 9, 7:30 p.m.

 Join other avid readers for a lively discussion on Monday, September 9, at 7:30 p.m., of The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt, a social psychologist, who describes the impact of smartphones and access to social media apps have had on the mental health of children and teenagers. Haidt dates the noticeable changes in social behavior and mental health of children from the late 2000s into the early 2010s. He describes childhood as having changed from play-based to phone-based, resulting in some very troubling statistics about the impact on children’s mental health: social deprivation, sleep deprivation, attention fragmentation and addiction. 

Have childhoods been rewired? Are girls more susceptible to the lure of social media and constant access to the social media apps that seemingly entice some down the path to self-loathing and degradation. And what about boys—are they as independent and adventurous as once was common? Have many of them forgotten how to interact with others face-to-face and prefer being alone, only interacting with digital friends?

The Book Group discussion is sponsored by Little River Christian Education. All are invited to join us for an interesting discussion of what Haidt posits about the digital world and then proposes for correcting some of the pitfalls of so many smartphones with high speed Internet access. He states that the “phone-based life produces spiritual degradation, not just in adolescents, but in all of us.” Do you agree? Haidt writes of many challenges in his engaging yet often combative and at times absolutist book that leads to more questions in a time of ubiquitous digital products that tempt and entrap young people who are not mature enough to understand the predatory aspects of many social media apps. The discussion will be held online: bit.ly/LR-BookGroup2024.