The Anxious Generation
by Jonathan Haidt
By Louis Perez y Cid
My friend Patrice Valantin's IRVIN association (see the Facts section) discusses this book. What is it about?
Published in 2024, The Anxious Generation makes a strong case: the widespread use of smartphones and social media, combined with more protective parenting, has profoundly altered the development of young people and contributed to the rise in anxiety and depressive disorders observed since the early 2010s.
My friend Patrice Valantin's IRVIN association (see the Facts section) discusses this book. What is it about?
Published in 2024, The Anxious Generation makes a strong case: the widespread use of smartphones and social media, combined with more protective parenting, has profoundly altered the development of young people and contributed to the rise in anxiety and depressive disorders observed since the early 2010s.
A clear social diagnosis
Haidt speaks of a "great rewiring" of childhood: less free play, fewer face-to-face interactions, and more digital socialization. He draws on epidemiological data and psychological research to demonstrate a temporal correlation between the rise of smartphones and the decline in mental health indicators, particularly among adolescent girls.
The book has the merit of being structured, accessible, and action-oriented (delaying access to social media, limiting phones at school, encouraging offline autonomy).
The book has the merit of being structured, accessible, and action-oriented (delaying access to social media, limiting phones at school, encouraging offline autonomy).
Are there any limitations?
The main criticism concerns causality. The data shows correlations, but the direct link between screen use and mental health problems remains debated. The effects measured in some studies are modest and variable, and other factors (academic pressure, economic context, social climate, pandemic) may also play a major role.
Some also criticize the book for sometimes oversimplifying a multifactorial phenomenon.
Some also criticize the book for sometimes oversimplifying a multifactorial phenomenon.
What to make of it?
IRVIN is right to highlight Generation Anxious. This book provides a clear and stimulating framework for understanding a generational unease that can no longer be ignored. Jonathan Haidt's argument has the merit of formulating a strong and understandable hypothesis: something has changed in contemporary childhood, and this change is not insignificant. The scientific debate remains open regarding the extent and exact nature of the causal factors.
But the book's value lies elsewhere; it compels us to ask questions we sometimes prefer to avoid, about the role of digital technology, the autonomy of young people, and our own relationship to protection and risk.
In this sense, the book is not so much a definitive verdict as a starting point for acting with discernment. And ultimately, whatever the actual hierarchy of causes, the challenge remains concrete: supporting young people, strengthening their resilience, and restoring spaces for real-world experience. This is precisely where the work of Patrice Valantin and his team takes on its full meaning, not through talk, but through action—a response to the very real consequences observed on the ground.
But the book's value lies elsewhere; it compels us to ask questions we sometimes prefer to avoid, about the role of digital technology, the autonomy of young people, and our own relationship to protection and risk.
In this sense, the book is not so much a definitive verdict as a starting point for acting with discernment. And ultimately, whatever the actual hierarchy of causes, the challenge remains concrete: supporting young people, strengthening their resilience, and restoring spaces for real-world experience. This is precisely where the work of Patrice Valantin and his team takes on its full meaning, not through talk, but through action—a response to the very real consequences observed on the ground.