Jonathan Haidt

It was actually more dangerous. A lot safer now, very little crime now compared to when I was a kid. But kids need that play. And so my book is actually a tragedy in two acts. In act one, We eliminate the play-based childhood in the 1990s. We freak out about child abduction. We think if I ever let my kid out, he'll be abducted. There'll be a man in a white van.

It was actually more dangerous. A lot safer now, very little crime now compared to when I was a kid. But kids need that play. And so my book is actually a tragedy in two acts. In act one, We eliminate the play-based childhood in the 1990s. We freak out about child abduction. We think if I ever let my kid out, he'll be abducted. There'll be a man in a white van.

If I let my kid go get milk in two aisles over in the supermarket, someone will say, hey, little kid, do you want some candy? Come into my car. Like that never, okay. It did happen once in Florida. That's actually the thing. It happened once in Florida in 1980. But it's extremely, extremely unlikely. Yeah. So we freaked out over child abduction in the 90s. We didn't stop letting our kids out.

If I let my kid go get milk in two aisles over in the supermarket, someone will say, hey, little kid, do you want some candy? Come into my car. Like that never, okay. It did happen once in Florida. That's actually the thing. It happened once in Florida in 1980. But it's extremely, extremely unlikely. Yeah. So we freaked out over child abduction in the 90s. We didn't stop letting our kids out.

If I let my kid go get milk in two aisles over in the supermarket, someone will say, hey, little kid, do you want some candy? Come into my car. Like that never, okay. It did happen once in Florida. That's actually the thing. It happened once in Florida in 1980. But it's extremely, extremely unlikely. Yeah. So we freaked out over child abduction in the 90s. We didn't stop letting our kids out.

So act one of the tragedy is we lose the play-based childhood, which is a biological necessity. But their mental health doesn't drop right then. The millennials, as I said, the millennials' mental health was a little better, actually, than that of Gen X. There's not really a difference. So in the 90s, there's no big change in their mental health.

So act one of the tragedy is we lose the play-based childhood, which is a biological necessity. But their mental health doesn't drop right then. The millennials, as I said, the millennials' mental health was a little better, actually, than that of Gen X. There's not really a difference. So in the 90s, there's no big change in their mental health.

So act one of the tragedy is we lose the play-based childhood, which is a biological necessity. But their mental health doesn't drop right then. The millennials, as I said, the millennials' mental health was a little better, actually, than that of Gen X. There's not really a difference. So in the 90s, there's no big change in their mental health.

And then in act two of the tragedy is the great rewiring, which I just told you about. We take away the flip phones. A flip phone is a tool, you can call your friends, you can text them. You're not communicating with a hundred strange men around the world on a flip phone. So take away the flip phone, give them a smartphone. So this is what I call the arrival of the phone-based childhood.

And then in act two of the tragedy is the great rewiring, which I just told you about. We take away the flip phones. A flip phone is a tool, you can call your friends, you can text them. You're not communicating with a hundred strange men around the world on a flip phone. So take away the flip phone, give them a smartphone. So this is what I call the arrival of the phone-based childhood.

And then in act two of the tragedy is the great rewiring, which I just told you about. We take away the flip phones. A flip phone is a tool, you can call your friends, you can text them. You're not communicating with a hundred strange men around the world on a flip phone. So take away the flip phone, give them a smartphone. So this is what I call the arrival of the phone-based childhood.

And giving a kid a phone-based childhood, it's like raising a kid on Mars. It's an alien environment. It's not good for human development. And that's what we did. So it's a two-act tragedy. And that's why I believe rates of anxiety, depression, self-harm, and suicide surged in the early 2010s.

And giving a kid a phone-based childhood, it's like raising a kid on Mars. It's an alien environment. It's not good for human development. And that's what we did. So it's a two-act tragedy. And that's why I believe rates of anxiety, depression, self-harm, and suicide surged in the early 2010s.

And giving a kid a phone-based childhood, it's like raising a kid on Mars. It's an alien environment. It's not good for human development. And that's what we did. So it's a two-act tragedy. And that's why I believe rates of anxiety, depression, self-harm, and suicide surged in the early 2010s.

So it depends on the exact survey and which subpopulation you're looking at. But as a general rule, the numbers are pretty much always between 50 and 150%. So I'll just give you a couple. If we look at the overall suicide rate for teenagers, that is up 50% between 2010 and... I forget if it's 2019 or 2022, 23, whatever, it's up 50%.

So it depends on the exact survey and which subpopulation you're looking at. But as a general rule, the numbers are pretty much always between 50 and 150%. So I'll just give you a couple. If we look at the overall suicide rate for teenagers, that is up 50% between 2010 and... I forget if it's 2019 or 2022, 23, whatever, it's up 50%.

So it depends on the exact survey and which subpopulation you're looking at. But as a general rule, the numbers are pretty much always between 50 and 150%. So I'll just give you a couple. If we look at the overall suicide rate for teenagers, that is up 50% between 2010 and... I forget if it's 2019 or 2022, 23, whatever, it's up 50%.

But whenever we zoom in on preteen girls, we get much higher percentage changes. Now they have a very low suicide rate, but it's up 150%, 150% increase in younger teen girls' suicide. It used to be very rare. Now it's more common. Now boys' rates are even higher. They go up a lot too. But the percentage increases are always gigantic for the 10 to 14-year-old girls, often well over 100%.

But whenever we zoom in on preteen girls, we get much higher percentage changes. Now they have a very low suicide rate, but it's up 150%, 150% increase in younger teen girls' suicide. It used to be very rare. Now it's more common. Now boys' rates are even higher. They go up a lot too. But the percentage increases are always gigantic for the 10 to 14-year-old girls, often well over 100%.

But whenever we zoom in on preteen girls, we get much higher percentage changes. Now they have a very low suicide rate, but it's up 150%, 150% increase in younger teen girls' suicide. It used to be very rare. Now it's more common. Now boys' rates are even higher. They go up a lot too. But the percentage increases are always gigantic for the 10 to 14-year-old girls, often well over 100%.