Book Review: The Anxious Generation

In The Anxious Generation, Jonathan Haidt persuasively makes the claim that overprotection in the real world and under protection in the digital world has led to widespread increases in anxiety, depression, and other psychological maladies among adolescents and young adults. In this digestible non-fiction book, Haidt takes the reader on a journey through the latest research related to the benefits of embodied play among children, sleep deprivation, biological addiction, learning and myelination, and rites of initiation into adulthood.

This book is an essential read for parents of teenagers in 2025, teachers in schools, coaches, pastors and youth leaders, therapists, and anyone sitting in a coffee shop viewing, with any degree of discomfort, other patrons sitting "together" while all immersed in their devices.

The research in this book, and research like it, informed North Dakota's 69th Legislative Assembly when it was considering Senate Bill 2354. Enacted, this bill became codified at N.D.C.C. § 15.1-07-41, which prohibits the use of cell phones in public schools and requires those schools to develop policies to enforce the prohibition.

Of course, teenagers from all over the state believe this is unfair and unnecessary. Being dedicated a substantial portion of the August issue of North Dakota Living, several interviewed teens expressed that this approach inhibits their learning, runs contrary to the needs to "teach[] digital responsibly", and that there will be workarounds, like "burner phones". I therefore recommend this book also to any teenager who thinks the new North Dakota law is misguided by any degree.