I've read both The Righteous Mind and The Coddling of the American Mind and both are well written. The latter book noted a lot of trends that were rising at universities that weren't good trends, from safe spaces to "what are your pronouns?"
In Coddling, Haidt and Lukianoff talked about the need for kids to play because that's how they le…
I've read both The Righteous Mind and The Coddling of the American Mind and both are well written. The latter book noted a lot of trends that were rising at universities that weren't good trends, from safe spaces to "what are your pronouns?"
In Coddling, Haidt and Lukianoff talked about the need for kids to play because that's how they learn how to resolve conflict. They dated this all the way back to "stranger danger" that was prevalent in the 1970s, in which the bulk of missing kids on milk cartons were either runaways or taken by a parent who didn't have legal custody.
I did read other reviews of Anxious Generation that noted that Haidt looked at mental health trends from the time that smartphones dominated the marketplace, up to 2019 -- meaning he didn't include the COVID years. I can only imagine what that would look like if 2020 and 2021 had been included.
For those who are skeptical about smartphones playing any role, consider this: Back when we were limited to one TV, one phone line and one computer that would have dial-up Internet, it was a lot easier for parents to convince kids to quit hogging things because somebody else would like to use it. Now when it comes to cell phone plans, everyone gets their own smartphone, so there goes that reason for telling a kid to get off the smartphone.
Smartphones are a brilliant invention. In the hideous urban agglomerations of North America every bit of space is owned and YOU are not allowed - especially kids.
But here is the infinite space of the digital where you’re free!
I've read both The Righteous Mind and The Coddling of the American Mind and both are well written. The latter book noted a lot of trends that were rising at universities that weren't good trends, from safe spaces to "what are your pronouns?"
In Coddling, Haidt and Lukianoff talked about the need for kids to play because that's how they learn how to resolve conflict. They dated this all the way back to "stranger danger" that was prevalent in the 1970s, in which the bulk of missing kids on milk cartons were either runaways or taken by a parent who didn't have legal custody.
I did read other reviews of Anxious Generation that noted that Haidt looked at mental health trends from the time that smartphones dominated the marketplace, up to 2019 -- meaning he didn't include the COVID years. I can only imagine what that would look like if 2020 and 2021 had been included.
For those who are skeptical about smartphones playing any role, consider this: Back when we were limited to one TV, one phone line and one computer that would have dial-up Internet, it was a lot easier for parents to convince kids to quit hogging things because somebody else would like to use it. Now when it comes to cell phone plans, everyone gets their own smartphone, so there goes that reason for telling a kid to get off the smartphone.
Smartphones are a brilliant invention. In the hideous urban agglomerations of North America every bit of space is owned and YOU are not allowed - especially kids.
But here is the infinite space of the digital where you’re free!
When someone I know writes something terrible I say that it is “interesting” or “well-written.”