By Kayla DeKraker
The Anxious Generation authors Jonathan Haidt and Catherine Price shared more about why they’re so passionate about limiting children’s screen use, announcing their new book The Amazing Generation: Your Guide to Fun and Freedom in a Screen-Filled World.
“We’ve been talking to parents and teachers and trying to change situations, but there are still struggles in every house in the world,” Haidt told the TODAY SHOW. “There’s this struggle between the parents and the kids. But the thing is, the kids aren’t desperate to be on social media. They’re just desperate to not be left out.”
Related: Screen Time is Creating an Anxious Generation, Studies Say
He continued, “What we’re offering is that we show kids, you can take back control of your childhood. You can have fun in the real world. If you wait to get the smartphone, the social media, and if you push your parents to let you out a little more and give you a little more freedom, you can have an amazing childhood.”
Last month, Haidt told The Free Press how big tech is trying to hijack the dopamine centers of young brains, particularly boys.
“We’re getting young men addicted to video games, porn, gambling, vaping—and then we’re surprised that they’re not finishing college, getting jobs, or moving out,” the caption of the video posted to Instagram reads.
When children and young people realize they’re being used by tech companies, many want a way out.
Price explained, “I think it’s the fact that this is a solvable problem when we can get kids excited about living full lives off screens. And we’ve gotten some feedback from early readers of the book, early kid readers of the book, and it’s so inspirational to hear from them saying that ‘Oh, wait a second, I don’t want to be taken advantage of by big tech companies. I don’t want to give my life away to them. I want to fill my own life with fun and freedom and friendship.’ It’s really been a wonderful reaction so far. And we know there’s so much at stake here.”
The Amazing Generation is written for 9-to-12-year-olds. A description of the book reads, “This engaging guide is packed with surprising facts, a graphic novel, interactive challenges, secrets that tech leaders don’t want kids to know, and real-life anecdotes from young adults who regret getting smartphones at a young age and want to help the next generation avoid making the same mistakes.”
It is important that we as parents’ guide our children to have intentional screen time boundaries and find healthy habits outside of devices.
Read Next: Another Study Proves Just How Damaging Screen Time Is On Mental Health
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