AFA - 'The Anxious Generation' - a problematic paradigm

Occasionally, a book, movie, TV series, or concert tour catches just the right wave to become a cultural juggernaut and suddenly seems ever present in public dialogue. Such is the case with Dr. Jonathan Haidt’s book The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness. Debuting on The New York Times Best Sellers list and staying there for a year, this book has sold nearly 2 million copies and is available in 44 languages.

Clearly, it hit a nerve. (See related story on p. 24.)

The research

Haidt makes many valuable points in his book, and I applaud the collective conversation raised by his work. I completely agree with his observations about our tendency as parents of Generation Z (born 1997-2012) to overprotect our children in the real world while under protecting them in online environments. Haidt proposes four new norms: no smartphones before high school, no social media before 16, phone-free schools, and more independence, free play, and responsibility in the real world.

These recommendations are not unreasonable, but I confess to having concerns about the wide-scale, rapid, wholesale adoption of this framework as a miracle solution.

Haidt proposes a simple causality: Smartphones are
primarily responsible for youth mental health decline. He argues he is right simply because no one has presented a plausible alternative.

I believe the reality is much more complicated.

The reality

As adults, we are not immune to alarmist sensationalism and yearning for an instant, simple fix. We should understand that smartphone use restructures childhood by introducing new risks and contributing to unhealthy impacts on youth mental health. But we must also recognize that it is certainly not the only factor. When looking through a spiritual lens, we see a culture increasingly disconnected from faith.

• Without a clear understanding of being made in the image of God, questions of identity, purpose, and belonging can lead children to seek external validation, only to find confusion, insecurity, and anxiety.

• Secular and religious research alike supports health benefits related to faith practices, but only 4% of Gen Z hold a biblical worldview.

• We live in a culture that promotes moral relativism, “personal truths,” and ever-changing social norms, creating chaos and confusion for teens unmoored from Scripture.

• Declining church attendance decreases opportunities for discipleship, intergenerational mentoring, and nurturing spiritual disciplines.

• Families today live in an overscheduled, overstimulated world focused on achievements, with little margin for

meaningful relationship-building, rest, and renewal.

The truth is that parents today deserve the label of “The Anxious Generation” just as much as our children. We are anxious about the impact of smartphones and social media, but we feel overwhelmed and powerless to do anything about it.

Enter Haidt, who tapped into the gauntlet of parental anxiety, offering a simple solution that places – in the hands of parents – all the power to enact a quick fix.

Friends, it’s not that simple, and we are not that powerful.

It’s important for discerning parents to know that Haidt is a professed atheist who holds a positive view of religion but sees Christianity as “implausible.” His stated hope is for parents to adopt his four recommendations and thus rewire childhood. His stated vision is to “foresee a world in which our children have reclaimed their birthright: a play-rich and community-centered childhood.”

As Christians, we also desire this for our children, but we have a much greater hope in the glory of God – a hope that does not disappoint – because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit (Romans 5:5). We have a vision that our children will claim their birthright as joint heirs with Christ, living eternally.

As parents, we can leverage practical recommendations on healthy technology use. But don’t let temptation for a simple, quick fix distract you from the daily work of discipling your children. It’s a slow and challenging mission, but rest assured that God is equipping you for every good work in such a time as this.