The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness

by Jonathan Haidt

Luca suffered from anxiety in middle school. His mother withdrew him when he was 12 and allowed him to study online from his bedroom. Boys of past generations who retreated to their bedrooms would have been confronted by boredom and almost unimaginable loneliness—conditions that would compel most homebound adolescents to change their ways or find help. Luca, however, found an online world just vivid enough to keep his mind from starving. Ten years later, he still plays video games and surfs the web all night. He sleeps all day. Luca explains that he is not ashamed of his lifestyle. In fact, he says he’s proud of it, and he contrasts it with the working lives of other young men, who let a boss tell them what to do. His room is “the opposite of a prison,” he tells Conti. “It is freedom. There’s no one in here but me. I can do whatever, whenever. Going outside is a prison. But this room—this room is clarity.” Luca’s worldview is possible because his internet connection gives him access to a convincing simulation of many real-world pleasures—social connection, games, learning, and sex—without needing to face his anxieties and the uncomfortable uncertainty of real life. It is also representative of the swaggering and aggressive spirit that pervades the male-dominated subreddits, “chans” (such as 4chan and 8chan), and online communities (such as MGTOW—Men Going Their Own Way, without women).