# STERN BUSINESS Magazine | From Research to Revolution ![Professor Jonathan Haidt, joined by co-author Catherine Price, spoke about his most recent book The Amazing Generation on The Daily Show](/sites/default/files/styles/866w/public/2026-06/photo_feb_25_2026_6_52_07_pm.jpg?h=8963ac9e&itok=LPrfEJtx) --- ## From Research to Revolution *How NYU Stern's Jonathan Haidt sparked a global reckoning on childhood.* --- ![The Anxious Generation Book Cover](/sites/default/files/styles/small_230px_wide/public/2024-03/81z1agbmevl._sl1500_.jpg.webp?itok=y-h1oGzh) A global mental health epidemic is unfolding among young people, with the development of a generation at stake—and Professor Jonathan Haidt is on its front lines. What began as research has ignited a worldwide movement, as Haidt has transformed his data into an emergency blueprint that has been adopted by global and cultural leaders with a single mission in mind: breaking the smartphone and social media grip on a generation in crisis. Over the past decade, Haidt has focused his work on the rise of the phone-based childhood and the impact of social media on teen mental health. Research has shown that adolescents’ average daily use of social media (five hours) is associated with over a 50% increase in the risk of depression compared to those who use social media very little. In a widely read cover story in *The Atlantic* and in his bestselling book *The Anxious Generation*, Haidt argues that the rapid shift from play-based to phone-based childhood has caused a dramatic rise in anxiety, depression, sleep deprivation, and loneliness among young people. His synthesis of psychological research and international data did more than diagnose a problem; it galvanized action. What followed is rare for any scholar. Heads of state and cabinet ministers have sought him out directly. French President Emmanuel Macron invited Haidt to discuss youth and technology policy. Indonesia’s Minister of Communications and Digital Affairs, Meutya Hafid, consulted with him as her country weighs youth protections. Policymakers in Australia and across the US have drawn on his work as they debate, and in some cases implement, age restrictions and school phone bans. Hundreds of media interviews, including with Oprah Winfrey, and nearly 100,000 citations elevated his message to millions more. With the release of his latest book, *Amazing Generation: How to Choose Fun and Freedom in a Screen-Filled World*, Haidt is deepening the movement, bringing its message directly to children and families. We sat down with Haidt to discuss how he sees the crisis and the path forward. ![A headshot of Jonathan Haidt](/sites/default/files/styles/480w_x_361h/public/2026-06/photo_credit_rob_holysz_1.jpg?h=706dfa35&itok=A5AIjeM5) ## Jonathan Haidt Thomas Cooley Chair in Ethical Leadership Professor of Business & Society Professor Jonathan Haidt is a social psychologist at New York University’s Stern School of Business and the author of *The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness*. [ Read Jonathan Haidt's Bio ](/faculty/bio/jonathan-haidt) ## Q&A with Jonathan Haidt ### You describe a “Great Rewiring” of childhood: a shift from play-based to phone-based lives. What is the psychological impact of this shift, and why does it show up so starkly in the data on teen mental health? In *The Anxious Generation* we coined the term “The Great Rewiring” to describe the period from 2010 to 2015 when kids’ social lives moved largely online (upwards of 7-9 hours a day) and away from in-person social interaction with friends, family, and their local community. During this period, the “play-based childhood” was replaced by the “phone-based childhood.” This Great Rewiring of childhood interferes with children’s social and psychological development, covering everything from sleep deprivation to attention fragmentation, addiction, loneliness, social contagion, social comparison, and perfectionism. ![Jonathan Haidt with Oprah Winfrey and his book The Anxious Generation](/sites/default/files/styles/large_825px_wide/public/2026-06/jonathan_haidt_winfrey_0.png.webp?itok=S1SQVGnk) Photo: *Haidt with Oprah Winfrey on her podcast* To understand the impact of this Great Rewiring on teen mental health, we must first look at what is happening to the brain during that time of life (i.e. puberty). Developmental psychologists see puberty as a “sensitive period” in which the brain is especially “plastic” or malleable based on incoming experience. The brain is changing over from the child form to the adult form, and those changes are guided by whatever a child does repeatedly. Neurons that fire together wire together, as brain researchers say. The average adolescent in the US now spends around five hours a day using social media. Their brains will enhance whichever neurons and circuits are activated repeatedly, at the expense of neurons and circuits that are underused. This brain sculpting happens throughout childhood, and continues on in the pre-frontal cortex until around age 25. But in the earlier part of adolescence—specifically puberty—the sculpting is more intense, and the changes are more likely to be permanent. So what has the result been since the social lives of American teens moved largely onto smartphones loaded with social media apps between 2010 and 2015? The adolescent mental health crisis. Major depressive episodes among American teens have more than doubled since 2010. Emergency department visits for self-harm episodes among preteen girls have more than tripled. Suicide rates have also risen significantly. ![Jonathan Haidt with Meutya Hafid](/sites/default/files/styles/large_825px_wide/public/2026-06/jonathan_haidt_hafid.jpg.webp?itok=q4SrZsw1) Photo: *Haidt with Meutya Hafid* ### What role do technology and social media companies play in this? Big Tech and the social media companies hold a great deal of responsibility for what has happened to our kids. Recent research—including experiments conducted by Meta itself—provides increasingly strong causal evidence linking heavy social media use to depression, anxiety, and other internalizing disorders. Importantly, in March 2026 we reached a new frontier in the fight for accountability. Juries in Los Angeles and New Mexico affirmed what parents have long known: Meta and YouTube were designed to exploit young people, with devastating consequences. For the first time, the law aligns with common sense: social media companies no longer have a special exemption to harm children with impunity. Their shield is gone. They will be treated like any industry that knowingly harms children and lies about it. History will judge them as harshly as the tobacco industry. ### This movement has found a broad and diverse coalition of support, ranging from grassroots parenting organizations to international heads of state. Has there been an unexpected moment from your conversations with these groups that you can share? One of the most moving moments I’ve experienced since publishing *The Anxious Generation* came in early 2026. I was in London and was invited to meet with Keir Starmer’s policy team at #10 Downing. On my way out, right as I reached the gate, I ran into a dozen survivor parents who were there to lobby the government to enact protections, so that there would be fewer parents, like themselves, who would know the pain of losing a child to the dangers of social media. I had heard a few of their stories already and was immediately overwhelmed by emotion. I got so choked up I literally could not speak. Instead, we stood together and hugged. ### What have you heard from students taking your popular courses Work, Wisdom and Happiness, and Flourishing about the impact of phone and social media use in their lives, and advice to curb it? In these classes, I ask students to change a few of their habits to make themselves smarter, stronger, and more sociable. To begin, I strongly urge those who are spending more than two hours a day on social media to work on cutting that time down. Those who are able to reduce their usage always drastically get transformative results, without fail. When they aren’t spending so much time stuck in an infinite scroll, they have so much more focus that they can finish their homework quickly and then find that they have an extra three or four hours in each day. They are less stressed. They start spending more time with friends. They flourish. ![Haidt with Emmanuel Macron at the 2026 World Economic Forum](/sites/default/files/styles/866w/public/2026-06/jonathan_haidt_macron_0.jpg?h=c10a6e2b&itok=m3N8Wtww) --- Photo: *Haidt with Emmanuel Macron at the 2026 World Economic Forum* ### We now have AI as another looming threat facing children, and the idea that chat bots and virtual friends may replace real life relationships. How do we begin to address this next challenge? Just as smartphones and social media replaced childhood play and in-person peer interaction, AI companions threaten to exacerbate and extend these risks as they simulate friendship, affection, and understanding, and offer “comfort without commitment,” a form of intimacy without vulnerability. If we want children to grow into socially, emotionally, and morally capable adults, we must protect childhood as a space for real human connection. My plea to parents is this: until AI is proven safe, please keep AI chatbots companions out of childhood. ### One of your central themes to returning to a phone-free childhood is “collective action.” For Stern alumni who are leaders and parents or have children in their lives, what is the single most effective way they can contribute to this movement within their own communities? The tide is turning on this issue. Before, we had a perception of reality before that this was just inevitable: “What are you going to do? The kids are on it. The technology is here to stay.” Today we’re asking: “If everybody agrees this is harmful for kids, why are we giving it to kids?” This work is all about collective action. No parent wants to be the only one who doesn’t let their kid have a smartphone or social media—but when we act together, the benefits multiply and the risks of going it alone disappear. ![Haidt speaks at the 2026 TED Conference in Vancouver](/sites/default/files/styles/866w/public/2026-06/haidt_ted_talk_vancouver_1_0.png?h=f3419da9&itok=8Yg93z_8) --- ## Haidt's Impact Jonathan Haidt's Global Influence and Recognition ### Best-Selling Author Authored five books, four of which were New York Times bestsellers; in 2024, *The Anxious Generation* was named to *The Wall Street Journal*'s 10 Best Books ### Influential Voice Featured in *The New York Times*, *The Atlantic*, and *The Wall Street Journal*; Prospect Magazine's “Top 50 Thinkers”; inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2019 ### Academic Thought Leader Written more than 100 academic articles that have been cited more than 100,000 times; teaches courses on “Flourishing” and “Work, Wisdom and Happiness” ### Change Agent Launched the Tech and Society Lab at Stern to generate research to help the public navigate rapid technological and social change [How Screens Stole Childhood — and How to Get It Back | Jonathan Haidt | TED](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DH9L7vJ03DE) Jonathan Haidt's Impact ## "How Screens Stole Childhood—and How to Get It Back" Social psychologist Jonathan Haidt lays out three principles of technoskepticism—and explains why, two years after sounding the alarm in *The Anxious Generation*, he's more concerned (and hopeful) than ever before. \[Recorded at TED2026 in April 2026\] [ Watch the Video ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DH9L7vJ03DE) --- [Jonathan Haidt & Catherine Price - Helping Gen Alpha Rebel Against Big Tech | The Daily Show](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t7SCT3w40M4) Jonathan Haidt's Impact ## "Helping Gen Alpha Rebel Against Big Tech" Bestselling author of *The Anxious Generation* Jonathan Haidt and bestselling author of *How to Break Up with Your Phone* Catherine Price join Desi Lydic to discuss their new collaboration, *The Amazing Generation: Your Guide to Fun and Freedom in a Screen-Filled World*. \[Recorded at *The Daily Show* in February 2026\] [ Watch the Video ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t7SCT3w40M4) --- ## The TAG Movement Jonathan Haidt’s bestselling book *The Anxious Generation* sparked a global conversation that grew into a movement. [ Learn About the Anxious Generation Movement ](https://www.anxiousgeneration.com) ![The cover of STERN BUSINESS Magazine featuring Dean Bharat N. Anand](/sites/default/files/styles/640w_x_535h/public/2026-09/REVISED%20-%202026%20Stern%20Business%20Cover.png.webp?h=77b85495&itok=zrEd1e9y) STERN BUSINESS Magazine ## Read More Articles [ Return to Homepage ](/portal-partners/alumni/alumni-news-profiles/sternbusiness-magazine/2026) ---