Resources
The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt, 2024
In The Anxious Generation: How The Great Rewiring of Childhood is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness, Jonathan Haidt links the rise in youth mental health issues to smartphones and social media, arguing that this shift, combined with overprotective parenting, has reduced play-based childhoods, fueling anxiety and depression. He urges parents, educators, and policymakers to take action. Haidt’s work is reshaping society, influencing global education policies, and inspiring a movement toward healthier childhood development.
Unplugged Canada
Unplugged Bialik has been working in partnership with the Unplugged Canada team. Unplugged Canada is a non-profit organization that educates parents on the risks of early smartphone use and encourages delaying smartphones until age 14. By signing the pledge, families join a community prioritizing children's mental, emotional, and social well-being. The initiative promotes real-life experiences, creativity, and authentic connections, safeguarding childhood from digital distractions.
Wait Until 8th
Wait Until 8th empowers parents to delay giving children smartphones until at least 8th grade, fostering healthier development and reducing screen-related risks. The movement provides research-based guidance on smartphones' impact while encouraging collective commitments. By promoting alternative communication and delayed use, it helps children focus on real-world interactions, creativity, and independence.
Four Lessons for Raising Resilient Children in the Digital Age
In his After Babel substack, Jonathan Haidt explores how the digital age impacts resilience, social bonds, and well-being. In Four Lessons for Raising Resilient Children in the Digital Age, Seth Kaplan and Caroline Bryk show how secular families can learn from faith-based communities. Religious groups foster strong bonds, purpose, and shared values, reducing screen addiction and loneliness. The authors suggest secular families build local communities, emphasize responsibility, and encourage real-life interactions.
Be The Parent, Please
Be the Parent, Please is a must-read for any parent navigating the challenges of raising kids in today’s digital world. From toddlers on tablets to pre-teens scrolling endlessly, technology is now unavoidable. With tech companies targeting young users, schools pushing digital learning, and a culture promoting online fame, parents wonder: What’s okay? What’s off-limits? How do we set reasonable boundaries? Naomi Schaefer Riley — a columnist and mother of three — understands the lure of screens. In this book, she offers a much-needed reality check, helping parents set healthy, practical limits on technology for their kids.
Smartphones, Social Media Use and Youth Mental Health
The article Smartphones, Social Media Use, and Youth Mental Health — published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, , 10 Feb 2020 — examines how these technologies impact children and adolescents. The authors link rising youth mental distress to increased smartphone and social media use, citing cyberbullying, sleep disruption, and reduced face-to-face interactions. They urge clinicians to guide families in promoting balanced technology use.