William’s Reviews > The Anxious Generation > Status Update

Very interesting chapter on how spirituality, and less time spent on self oriented social media is scientifically shown to make people happier. If we feel belong in a community, or allow ourselves to be in awe of the beauty of the real world, as opposed to the digital ones in our pockets, then it helps a lot. Got called out on how we immediately take photos of things we find beautiful, rather than appreciating it.

Wow scary to see how detrimental social media is especially to teenage girls. It causes more social comparison and leads to “socially prescribed perfectionism;” it makes it way easier to gossip and spread rumours to bully each other; trends amplify the extremes and often romanticises mental health issues; makes girls vulnerable to predatory men; and encourages quantity over quality when it comes to their friends

Haidt explores how not only do social media apps harm us, they are also designed to make us be addicted to them and dependent on them. Thus exacerbating the detrimental effects of the apps by making us use them more frequently and for longer. He also begins to touch on how social media affects girls far more than boys, which as a guy is pretty fascinating and shows how it impacts girls’ body image dramatically

The irony of reading the section on sleep deprivation late at night while sleep deprived isn’t lost on me. Still surprising to find out just how detrimental smartphones are to our attention spans and sleep. We know it instinctively but do little about it. Regretting that I didn’t sleep more as a school student

Haidt continues to explore the causes of poor mental health among Gen Z, by pointing to how social media and the online world draw us away from outdoor play into this largely unregulated digital world, where young people are far more likely to encounter abuse, extreme content, and social ostracisation. He argues for how we need kids to learn social skills in the real world first before going online

Interesting further insights into how damaging social media is to those going through puberty, and how it starves teens of the real world play and connections between real people. Makes me reminisce about the times I would play outside with my friends, unsupervised and innocent, without any smartphones

Wow immediately to the point and gripping about the negative effects of social media on teens, and my generation of Gen Z in particular. Says what we know already but had the facts to back it up