Phones versus Play: What Jonathan Haidt Means by the Great Rewiring of Childhood in ‘The Anxious Generation’
In The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness, Jonathan Haidt contrasts two fundamentally different ways of growing up: a play-based childhood versus a phone-based childhood. The shift from physical, open-ended play to structured, screen-driven interaction has changed how children explore the world and socialize, with significant developmental and mental health implications. Haidt identifies two primary forces behind this change: “safetyism” in parenting, which over-protects kids from…