Real People/Real Stories – A Nonfiction Book Group: “The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Caused an Epidemic of Mental Illness” by Johnathan Haidt.

Real People/Real Stories meets the third Thursday of each month to explore the best in nonfiction history, biography, science, nature, and the arts. This month’s title is The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Caused an Epidemic of Mental Illness by Johnathan Haidt.

A social psychologist details how the younger generation’s “phone-based” childhood with its overdependence on social media has led to a rise in emotional and psychological problems in the young, disrupting their lives, their families, and society at large.

“Words that chill the parental heart… thanks to Mr. Haidt, we can glimpse the true horror of what happened not only in the U.S. but also elsewhere in the English-speaking world… lucid, memorable… galvanizing.” —Wall Street Journal

“Haidt sets out inarguable evidence that smartphones are fueling an anxiety epidemic among young people—and big tech must do more to reverse it…an extremely important and compelling read that is recommended not only to parents but to anyone who has felt increasingly pressurized by technology…I can’t recommend this book highly enough; everyone should read it. It is a game-changer for society.” —Stella O’Malley, Irish Independent

“This book poses a challenge that will determine the shape of the rest of the century. Jonathan Haidt shows us how we’ve arrived at this point of crisis with technology and the next generation. This book does not merely stand athwart the iPhone yelling ‘Stop!’ Haidt provides research-tested yet practical counsel for parents, communities, houses of worship, and governments about how things could be different. I plan to give this book to as many people as I can, while praying that we all have the wisdom to ponder and then to act.” —Russell Moore, editor in chief of Christianity Today