Resources

Hear From the Experts

Book Recommendations

Podcast Recommendations

  • "The Anxious Generation" by Jonathan Haidt, coauthor of The Coddling of the American Mind, is a critical exploration into the sharp decline of adolescent mental health that began in the early 2010s. Haidt presents troubling data on how rates of depression, anxiety, self-harm, and suicide have more than doubled among teenagers. The book traces the decline of a play-based childhood, prevalent until the 1980s, and its replacement by a phone-based childhood with the rise of smartphones in the early 2010s. Haidt discusses over a dozen ways this shift has disrupted social and neurological development, highlighting issues from sleep deprivation to addiction and social isolation. Particularly, he notes that social media has a more detrimental effect on girls, while boys are increasingly retreating into virtual worlds. Haidt not only outlines the problems but also proposes solutions involving parents, educators, tech companies, and governments to combat this mental health crisis and advocate for a return to a healthier, more balanced childhood. His book is both a call to action and a detailed plan aimed at restoring a sense of normalcy and well-being for future generations.

  • "Be the Parent, Please" by Naomi Schaefer Riley offers an essential guide for navigating the challenges of parenting in the digital age. Highlighting the pervasive role of technology in children's lives—from toddlers using tablets to pre-teens browsing Tumblr—Riley examines the pressures from tech companies, educational reforms, and cultural dynamics that push digital devices into the hands of the young. The book confronts the critical questions of what to allow and what to restrict and provides insight into establishing sensible boundaries around technology use. As a columnist and mother of three, Riley combines personal experience with a deep understanding of the allure of screens, urging parents to take decisive action to implement healthy limits to protect and promote their children's well-being.

  • "Wired Child" by Dr. Richard Freed serves as a practical guide for parents to enhance their children’s relationships with family and succeed in school despite the distractions of digital screens. The book addresses the increasing concern that children’s excessive use of video games, social media, and texting is undermining their connections with family and school—two critical pillars for their emotional and academic development. Dr. Freed details the negative outcomes of this trend, including emotional issues and a rise in tech addictions. "Wired Child" provides parents with effective strategies to foster a strong family environment, support academic achievement, and navigate the challenges of a digital world by teaching children to use technology in a constructive and beneficial way.

  • "Good Pictures Bad Pictures" offers a natural and accessible way for parents to discuss the challenging topic of pornography with their children. This revised bestseller presents a story format where a mom and dad explain what pornography is, why it's harmful, and how to resist it. Using straightforward science and clear analogies, the book is designed to engage and educate young children on how to safeguard themselves. It includes the 5-point CAN DO Plan™, which equips kids with practical steps to protect their minds if they encounter pornography, ensuring they are prepared for unexpected exposures or peer pressure.

  • In "The Big Disconnect," clinical psychologist Catherine Steiner-Adair explores the profound impacts of the Internet and digital technology on children and family dynamics. The book highlights the crisis many families face as digital distractions undermine the close, meaningful interactions that children require from adults. Steiner-Adair draws on real-life examples from her clinical practice and consultations with educators to illustrate these challenges. She provides parents with solutions and strategies to navigate the "technological wilderness" effectively. Her insights aim to empower parents with greater understanding, authority, and confidence as they manage the digital revolution occurring right in their living rooms, ensuring healthier development for their children.

  • "Glow Kids" by Dr. Nicholas Kardaras delves into the significant impact that technology, particularly glowing screens, has on children. The book explores how these devices, which are as stimulating to the brain's pleasure centers as sex according to brain imaging studies, are contributing to a range of disorders including ADHD, addiction, anxiety, depression, aggression, and even psychosis. Dr. Kardaras examines the multifaceted sociological, psychological, cultural, and economic factors that contribute to the global tech epidemic. His main objective is to uncover and discuss the profound effects that modern technology is having on the developing brains of children, calling it a virtual scourge that is rapidly multiplying across the globe.

  • Podcast: Good Inside with Dr. Becky

    LINK

    Social psychologist and author, Jonathan Haidt, joins Dr. Becky to discuss his new book The Anxious Generation. In this powerful episode, they talk about the impact of phones, social media, and the decline of play on our kids' mental health. But Jonathan also offers hope that we can end the epidemic of mental illness, end phone-based childhood, and restore a more humane childhood.

    For Jonathan Haidt's new book, The Anxious Generation, and more information please visit anxiousgeneration.com. To dig deeper into all of these issues, and follow Jon's work beyond the book, please subscribe to his free substack, AfterBabel.com

  • Podcast: Honestly with Bari Weiss

    LINK

    American kids are the freest, most privileged kids in all of history. They are also the saddest, most anxious, depressed, and medicated generation on record. Nearly a third of teen girls say they have seriously considered suicide. For boys, that number is an alarming 14 percent.

    What’s even stranger is that all of these worsening mental health outcomes for kids have coincided with a generation of parents hyper-fixated on the mental health and well-being of their children.

    Take, for example, the biggest parenting trend today: “gentle parenting.” Parents today are told to understand their kids’ feelings instead of punishing them when they act out. This emphasis on the importance of feelings is not just a parenting trend—it’s become an educational tool as well. “Social-emotional learning” has become a pillar in public schools across America, from kindergarten to high school. And maybe most significantly, therapy for children has been normalized. In fact, there are more kids in therapy today than ever before.

    On the surface, all of these parenting and educational developments seem positive. We are told that parents and educators today are more understanding, more accepting, more empathetic, and more compassionate than ever before—which, in turn, makes wonderful children.

    But is that really the case? Are all of these changes—the cultural rethink, the advent of therapy culture, of gentle parenting, of teaching kids about social-emotional learning—actually making our kids better?

    Best-selling author Abigail Shrier says no.

    In her new book, Bad Therapy: Why the Kids Aren't Growing Up, Shrier argues that these changes are directly contributing to kids’ mental health decline. In other words: all of this shiny new stuff is actually making our kids worse.

    Today: What’s gone wrong with American youth? What really happens to kids who get therapy but don’t actually need it? In our attempt to keep kids safe, are we failing the next generation of adults? And, if yes, how do we reverse it before it’s too late?

In the News

What people are saying.

  • "The more time teens spend looking at screens, the more likely they are to report symptoms of depression."

    — Dr. Jean Twenge, Professor of Psychology (The Atlantic)

  • "Human face-to-face interaction is not only a pleasure but also essential to our mental health and development."

    — Dr. Dimitri Christakis, Pediatrician (TEDx Talk)

  • "The social media world that teenagers are immersed in puts enormous pressures on them to live up to unrealistic, largely curated, edited, and photoshopped versions of reality."

    — Catherine Steiner-Adair, Clinical Psychologist (The Big Disconnect)

  • "Kids who delay their exposure to the hypnotic allure of the screens have better social interactions, engage more with their environment, and develop a better sense of self."

    — Michael Rich, Director of the Center on Media and Child Health (Harvard Health Blog)

  • "Screen time at a young age is linked to a multitude of behavioral issues, reduced attention, and diminished cognitive control."

    — Dr. Victria Dunckley, Author of ‘Reset Your Child’s Brain’ (Reset Your Child’s Brain)

  • "There is a correlation between the use of social media and depression, anxiety, and even suicidal thoughts known as 'Facebook depression.'"

    — Richard Freed, Psychologist (The Atlantic)

  • "Teens need to learn to navigate their real world and establish their identity offline before managing who they are online."

    — Dr. Gwenn O'Keeffe, Pediatrician (CyberSafe)

  • "We are seeing a rise in 'digital addictions' in children because their brains are being digitally rewired, which can lead to obsessive and antisocial behaviors."

    — Nicholas Kardaras, Author of 'Glow Kids' (Glow Kids)

  • "Kids need to understand the difference between the artificial urgency of notifications and the real-world urgency of interpersonal communication."

    — Jordan Shapiro, Author (The New Childhood)

  • "How we pay attention to each other is the most basic form of love. That’s often what children are missing when they’re staring at a screen."

    — Melinda Gates, Co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (Washington Post)

  • "The way we consume media is changing the way our children perceive the world and themselves."

    — Arianna Huffington, Founder of The Huffington Post (Thrive)

  • "I don’t have a kid, but I have a nephew that I put some boundaries on. There are some things that I won’t allow; I don’t want them on a social network."

    — Tim Cook, CEO of Apple (The Guardian)

  • "God only knows what it's doing to our children's brains." Speaking on the thought process that went into building Facebook, he mentioned the goal was: "How do we consume as much of your time and conscious attention as possible?"

    — Sean Parker, Founding President of Facebook (Axios)

  • "I would be lying if I said I wasn't worried about my kids' technology usage. It's important that we develop tools that make it easier to maintain balance."

    — Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google (New York Times)

  • "What's at stake is our ability to be present, engaged, and mindful in our own lives and the lives of our children."

    — Evan Williams, Co-founder of Twitter (New York Times)