Nir Eyal

But we are starving our children of these three psychological nutrients. They don't feel competent in school because we test them all day, every day to just barf out the same information that they were taught the day before, whether they care or not. Many kids fall through the cracks because of this No Child Left Behind Act that mandates testing, testing constantly, so they don't feel competent.

But we are starving our children of these three psychological nutrients. They don't feel competent in school because we test them all day, every day to just barf out the same information that they were taught the day before, whether they care or not. Many kids fall through the cracks because of this No Child Left Behind Act that mandates testing, testing constantly, so they don't feel competent.

Then we have autonomy. This is the most regulated generation in history. There's only two places in the world where you can tell human beings where to go, what to think, what to do, how to dress, and who to be friends with, and that's school and prison. So it's no surprise that if you put kids in cages all day, they act like animals because they don't have autonomy.

Then we have autonomy. This is the most regulated generation in history. There's only two places in the world where you can tell human beings where to go, what to think, what to do, how to dress, and who to be friends with, and that's school and prison. So it's no surprise that if you put kids in cages all day, they act like animals because they don't have autonomy.

Then we have autonomy. This is the most regulated generation in history. There's only two places in the world where you can tell human beings where to go, what to think, what to do, how to dress, and who to be friends with, and that's school and prison. So it's no surprise that if you put kids in cages all day, they act like animals because they don't have autonomy.

I dare any parent listening to me to try and survive a day in high school. You will hate it. You will absolutely hate it. It's miserable. And so why do we subject our kids to this torture? Because we don't know what else to do. So that's what we do. That was done to us. That's what we'll do to our kids. So they're desperate for autonomy. They're desperate for freedom.

I dare any parent listening to me to try and survive a day in high school. You will hate it. You will absolutely hate it. It's miserable. And so why do we subject our kids to this torture? Because we don't know what else to do. So that's what we do. That was done to us. That's what we'll do to our kids. So they're desperate for autonomy. They're desperate for freedom.

I dare any parent listening to me to try and survive a day in high school. You will hate it. You will absolutely hate it. It's miserable. And so why do we subject our kids to this torture? Because we don't know what else to do. So that's what we do. That was done to us. That's what we'll do to our kids. So they're desperate for autonomy. They're desperate for freedom.

And so what do they do when they're looking for freedom? They come home, they go online, and finally, they can be free. They can play these games with their friends. And then finally, relatedness. What came at the cost of the extracurriculars and the swimming and the test prep and the Chinese lessons and the ballet is that kids have less time than ever to play.

And so what do they do when they're looking for freedom? They come home, they go online, and finally, they can be free. They can play these games with their friends. And then finally, relatedness. What came at the cost of the extracurriculars and the swimming and the test prep and the Chinese lessons and the ballet is that kids have less time than ever to play.

And so what do they do when they're looking for freedom? They come home, they go online, and finally, they can be free. They can play these games with their friends. And then finally, relatedness. What came at the cost of the extracurriculars and the swimming and the test prep and the Chinese lessons and the ballet is that kids have less time than ever to play.

And if you look at the work of Peter Gray, genius work that he's done around how little time children have for free play today. And this is making our children sick. It is making them psychologically vulnerable because play is where we learn our place in the world. It's one thing if a parent or a coach tells you what to do.

And if you look at the work of Peter Gray, genius work that he's done around how little time children have for free play today. And this is making our children sick. It is making them psychologically vulnerable because play is where we learn our place in the world. It's one thing if a parent or a coach tells you what to do.

And if you look at the work of Peter Gray, genius work that he's done around how little time children have for free play today. And this is making our children sick. It is making them psychologically vulnerable because play is where we learn our place in the world. It's one thing if a parent or a coach tells you what to do.

It's a whole nother thing when a friend says, hey, if you act like that, I don't want to play because you're acting like a jerk. That's how we learn our place in the world. And we need that to develop psychological resilience. So we need that time for free play. Well, kids don't have any time for free play anymore because they're so hyper-scheduled. Or if you don't have money, what do you do?

It's a whole nother thing when a friend says, hey, if you act like that, I don't want to play because you're acting like a jerk. That's how we learn our place in the world. And we need that to develop psychological resilience. So we need that time for free play. Well, kids don't have any time for free play anymore because they're so hyper-scheduled. Or if you don't have money, what do you do?

It's a whole nother thing when a friend says, hey, if you act like that, I don't want to play because you're acting like a jerk. That's how we learn our place in the world. And we need that to develop psychological resilience. So we need that time for free play. Well, kids don't have any time for free play anymore because they're so hyper-scheduled. Or if you don't have money, what do you do?

You put your kid behind locked door every day and they're supposed to just sit there and read Shakespeare in their spare time? No, of course not. They want to hang out with their friends. But when we don't let kids do that because the media has scared us to death about stranger danger, which is totally ridiculous. It's the safest time in American history to be a child.

You put your kid behind locked door every day and they're supposed to just sit there and read Shakespeare in their spare time? No, of course not. They want to hang out with their friends. But when we don't let kids do that because the media has scared us to death about stranger danger, which is totally ridiculous. It's the safest time in American history to be a child.

You put your kid behind locked door every day and they're supposed to just sit there and read Shakespeare in their spare time? No, of course not. They want to hang out with their friends. But when we don't let kids do that because the media has scared us to death about stranger danger, which is totally ridiculous. It's the safest time in American history to be a child.