DeepSummary
In this episode, Dr. Mike interviews social psychologist Jonathan Haidt about the impact of social media on Gen Z. Haidt argues that smartphones and social media have robbed Gen Z of a normal childhood, depriving them of crucial developmental experiences like free play and unstructured socialization. This has led to higher rates of anxiety, depression, and other mental health issues.
Haidt contrasts Gen Z's experiences with those of older generations, who went through puberty before the rise of smartphones and social media. He believes the effects of a 'phone-based childhood' during this critical developmental stage will be long-lasting. However, Haidt is optimistic that those in Gen Z who actively work to regain control over their attention and digital habits can overcome these challenges.
The conversation also touches on broader societal impacts of social media, including its role in polarization, the erosion of wisdom traditions, and how rapidly evolving technology may be outpacing humanity's ability to adapt. Haidt calls for establishing norms and policies to protect childhood from the harms of excessive digital immersion.
Key Episodes Takeaways
- Social media and smartphone usage during childhood, especially puberty, has been linked to higher rates of anxiety, depression, and developmental issues among Gen Z.
- The constant stimulation, social comparison, and lack of free play associated with a 'phone-based childhood' has deprived Gen Z of crucial experiences previous generations had.
- While the effects may be lasting, individuals can work to regain control over their digital habits and reclaim their wellbeing.
- Broader societal consequences of social media include polarization, erosion of wisdom traditions, and adaptation struggles in the face of rapidly evolving technology.
- Parents have an opportunity to buck norms and provide their children a childhood experience more akin to pre-smartphone/social media generations.
- Ideological biases may be hindering productive social science research into understanding and addressing the impacts of new technology on society.
- Establishing policies and norms around childhood social media/smartphone usage could help mitigate current and future harms.
- The virality enabled by modern social media fundamentally transformed the internet and how information spreads, fueling many negative consequences.
Top Episodes Quotes
- “The thing I focused on as a social psychologist is the virality. So things could sort of go viral once we had email, because, like, you know, your uncle forwards a joke and if it's really funny, then lots of people forward it. So that's sort of virality, but it's nothing compared to the retweet button. The retweet button was an invention that allowed anybody on Twitter to press a button and send it to possibly thousands of people who could then a minute later send it on to thousands more. So you could actually get millions of people seeing something within a few hours. And that was not possible before 2009.“ by Jonathan Haidt
- “If you deprive monkeys and rats of play, then they come out more anxious and less exploratory. So we have good, solid evidence that mammals need play.“ by Jonathan Haidt
- “We desperately need good sociology in particular. But as I've been working on with the colleague in the american mind and with Heterodox Academy, we have real problems in the social sciences because it's so ideological, things are distorted by the political desires of the professors and of the professional society.“ by Jonathan Haidt
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Episode Information
The Checkup with Doctor Mike
DM Operations Inc.
6/9/24
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Follow Dr. Jonathan Haidt and buy his book here:
- The Anxious Generation: https://www.anxiousgeneration.com/book
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/JonHaidt
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jonathanhaidt/
Executive Producer and Host: Doctor Mike Varshavski
Produced by Dan Owens and Sam Bowers
Art by Caroline Weigum