S1E14 | Bring Childhood Back to Earth | The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt | The Messy Podcast

The podcast examines the radical transformation of childhood into something inhumane:a phone-based existence. It explores how this shift relates to the surge in mental illness, particularly among Gen Z, and touches upon the disruption of society more broadly.

Key areas of focus include:

• The rapid transformation of childhood that occurred between 2010 and 2015 and its connection to mental health challenges faced by Gen Z.
• The potential impact of a chemical released in the early 2010s into the drinking water or food supply of North America, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand, which may disproportionately affect girls and have little impact on the mental health of people over 30. This idea is referred to as "The Great Rewiring".
• The diffusion of digital technology into children's lives and the collective inaction and lack of understanding surrounding its potential negative effects.
• Strategies and reforms to roll back the phone-based childhood, such as no smartphones before high school, no social media before 16, phone-free schools, and more unsupervised play and childhood independence.

The podcast encourages listeners to "speak up" about the negative impacts of phone-based childhoods and to join the movement to bring childhood back to earth. It provides resources and advice for parents, schools, and Gen Z. Additional topics are discussed on the host's Substack, After Babel, including advice for Gen Z, growing up under constant surveillance, what universities and employers can do, how social media affects boys, how pornography affects girls, and more.