Jonathan Haidt

From 2010, as teens traded in their flip phones for smartphones packed with social media apps, unsupervised time online soared while face-to-face conversations with friends and family plummeted, and so did mental health. This profound shift took place against a backdrop of diminishing childhood freedom and over-supervision in the real world, depriving children of the experiences they most need to become strong and self-governing adults

The Anxious Generation delves into the latest research to show how this shift from free-play to smartphones disrupts development - from sleep deprivation to addiction - and lays the foundations of isolation and fear that define society today.