The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness

The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness is an instant #1 New York Times Bestseller and a Wall Street Journal Top 10 Book of 2024. This generation-defining investigation explores the alarming collapse of youth mental health in the era of smartphones and social media.

Following a period of stability, adolescent mental health experienced a sharp decline in the early 2010s, with significant increases in depression, anxiety, self-harm, and suicide. Social psychologist Jonathan Haidt examines the simultaneous rise of the "phone-based childhood" and its impact on children's development. The book details how this shift has interfered with crucial social and neurological development through mechanisms such as sleep deprivation, attention fragmentation, addiction, and social comparison.

Haidt presents evidence on how social media disproportionately affects girls and explains the withdrawal of boys into the virtual world. The work, recognized as a New York Times and Washington Post Notable Book and one of Barack Obama's Favorite Books of 2024, offers a clear diagnosis of the issues and proposes actionable solutions. It outlines steps for parents, educators, tech companies, and governments to help end the mental illness epidemic and restore a healthier childhood.

This book is a recipient of the Goodreads Choice Award for Nonfiction Book of the Year and a finalist for the PEN Literary Awards. It is also named a Best Book of 2024 by The Economist, the New York Post, and Town & Country.