Social Media | Jonathan Haidt
First: Here is a Youtube playlist with all of my talks on social media’s effects on teen mental health and democratic norms and institutions. Plus a few comedy clips on the topic. A few of the videos stand out as the most important ones: My most complete presentation was on the Lex Fridman podcast in June of 2022. I directly address and rebut Mark Zuckerberg’s claims––made on Lex’s podcast a few months earlier––that social media is, on the whole, good for teen mental health and for democracy. On the Joe Rogan show, 2019, I laid out the evidence that social media plus overprotection are the two major causes of the teen mental health crisis that began around 2012. We talk about what we’re doing with our own kids. I argue for the importance of free range childhoods; Joe disagrees. Below is a 20 minute clip. Full two-hour discussion is here, Episode 1221. On 60 Minutes, 2022, I talked about how social media is causing “structural stupidity” and damaging American democracy: In The Social Di
Below you’ll find my writing, since 2019, on the effects of technology on childhood, democracy, and society. For a complete list of my publications, including my earlier work on moral and political psychology, cultural psychology, and positive psychology, please see my CV. Publications Peer-reviewed articles, pre-prints, and research commentary. Haidt, J., & Rausch, Z. (2026). Two common practices that minimize evidence of risks associated with the use of social media.(under review) Read pre-print Capraro, V., Globig, L., Rausch, Z., Rathje, S., … Haidt, J., & Van Bavel (2025). A…
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- Social Media is a Major Cause of the Mental Illness Epidemic in Teen Girls. Here’s The Evidence.jonathanhaidt.substack.com
- We're Not The Anxious Generationjoanganzcooneycenter.org
- Jonathan Haidt on Adjusting to Smartphones and Social Media (Ep. 209) | Conversations with Tylerconversationswithtyler.com
- Why do we use social media?maxread.substack.com
- How Harmful Is Social Media? | The New Yorkernewyorker.com
- Book Review: The Anxious Generationsubstack.com
- Jonathan Haidt is wrong about age-gating the internettheargumentmag.com
- Yes, Social Media Really Is a Cause of the Epidemic of Teenage Mental Illnessafterbabel.com
- Protecting our attentionnayafia.substack.com
- Honestly, it's probably the phonesnoahpinion.substack.com
- Social media and psychological well-beinggwern.net
- The Anxious Generation — from a book to a movementanxiousgeneration.com