By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
Concealed RepublicanConcealed Republican
  • Home
  • Latest News
  • Guns
  • Politics
  • Videos
Reading: Jonathan Haidt: An Update on Efforts to Take Childhood Back from Phones and Social Media
Share
Notification Show More
Font ResizerAa
Font ResizerAa
Concealed RepublicanConcealed Republican
  • News
  • Guns
  • Politics
  • Videos
  • Home
  • Latest News
  • Guns
  • Politics
  • Videos
Have an existing account? Sign In
Follow US
  • Advertise
  • Advertise
© 2022 Foxiz News Network. Ruby Design Company. All Rights Reserved.
Concealed Republican > Blog > Politics > Jonathan Haidt: An Update on Efforts to Take Childhood Back from Phones and Social Media
Politics

Jonathan Haidt: An Update on Efforts to Take Childhood Back from Phones and Social Media

Jim Taft
Last updated: March 28, 2025 2:06 am
By Jim Taft 5 Min Read
Share
Jonathan Haidt: An Update on Efforts to Take Childhood Back from Phones and Social Media
SHARE

Jonathan Haidt’s book The Anxious Generation came out a year ago. In 2023 I wrote a lot about his theory, presented in the book, that smart phones and social media were harming children. Today, the Free Press published an update written by Haidt on how his campaign to change minds and eventually rules has gone a lot better than he expected.

The book catalyzed a movement around the world. Most spectacularly, schools, states, and entire countries implemented phone-free school policies, and Australia raised the age for opening social media accounts to 16.

This went well beyond our wildest expectations of what could happen.

The rest of the update is broken up into four proposed norms or areas of focus, starting with the push to limit smartphones to high school aged kids.

At lightning speed, we’ve seen parents of younger kids commit to delaying smartphones, and parents of older kids set new boundaries, swap smartphones for flip phones, and have meaningful conversations with their kids about the risks of online life. To take just one example: Smartphone Free Childhood began in early 2024 with a simple post by two British moms to a WhatsApp group. They were looking for other parents who shared their desire to delay smartphone access. By the end of the first week, they had 10,000 people, organized into 75 WhatsApp communities. In March 2025, they have over 300,000 parents and 29 offshoot groups in countries around the world.

The next proposed norm was limiting social media to 16 or older. Again, it’s going better than expected.

We thought parents would have to do this on their own, as with delaying smartphones. But what surprised us was the degree to which leaders and legislators from both parties sprang into action. Governors and legislators from red states (Arkansas, Florida, Louisiana, North Dakota, South Carolina, Utah), blue states (California, New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Vermont) and purple states (Virginia) reached out to us to discuss their plans. Many began proposing and enacting policies supporting phone-free schools and safer social media design, and raising the age for opening social media accounts (as Florida did). It turns out that politicians in both parties are usually parents, too. Many saw the problems firsthand, and they could see the passion for this cause among other parents.

In Australia, the government made 16 the new minimum age to open a social media account for the entire country. That law takes effect at the end of this year. Haidt is hopeful other countries will follow Australia’s lead.

Another goal is to have phone free schools, including high schools. In other words, kids who have phones can check them at the door. In the US, both California and New York are embracing the idea:

In California, the L.A. public school district, the second-largest in the country, announced last June that they were going phone-free, and soon after that Governor Gavin Newsom announced that the entire state would go phone-free by July 2026.

But Haidt notes that several countries are doing the same:” Brazil, Denmark, Ireland, Greece, the Netherlands, and Hungary.”

The bottom line is that many parents around the world see the negative effects of smart phones and social media on their kids and school rules and laws are changing. Haidt concludes that while the progress is encouraging, another big technological change is just around the corner. Once AI becomes part of smartphones and social media, we’ll have another reason to keep them out of schools and out of the hands of young kids.

Read the full article here

You Might Also Like

Left Wants to Recreate French Revolution in America

Democrats Win Key Supreme Court Election, DNC Sues Trump Over Non-Citizen Voters

FACT CHECK: Image Shows Astronaut Prior To Returning Back To Earth

Illegal Alien Released by Biden Shoots Off-Duty Border Patrol Agent in the Face [WATCH]

Consumer Prices Drop for First Time in Nearly Three Years, Marking Win for Trump’s Economic Plan

Share This Article
Facebook X Email Print
Previous Article Democrat Appointed District Judge Orders Trump Officials To Preserve Texts About Yemen Strikes Democrat Appointed District Judge Orders Trump Officials To Preserve Texts About Yemen Strikes
Next Article Subpoena Targets Oprah Winfrey in Explosive Case Tied to Sex Assault Claims Subpoena Targets Oprah Winfrey in Explosive Case Tied to Sex Assault Claims
Leave a Comment

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

- Advertisement -
Ad image

Latest News

Kimmel Returns: Hey Kids, Don’t Do What I Won’t Admit I Did, or Something; UPDATE: ‘Unrepentant Liar’
Kimmel Returns: Hey Kids, Don’t Do What I Won’t Admit I Did, or Something; UPDATE: ‘Unrepentant Liar’
Politics
Viral video: Thug who cops say is younger than 16 repeatedly pummels elderly worker in brutal attack during rap concert
Viral video: Thug who cops say is younger than 16 repeatedly pummels elderly worker in brutal attack during rap concert
News
Dearborn mayor won’t apologize after telling minister he wasn’t ‘welcome here”
Dearborn mayor won’t apologize after telling minister he wasn’t ‘welcome here”
News
Trump Admin Names Ben Carson to Key USDA MAHA Position
Trump Admin Names Ben Carson to Key USDA MAHA Position
Politics
Daily Mail: Dallas ICE Shooter ID’d; ‘Anti-ICE’ Messaging On Ammo, FBI Confirms
Daily Mail: Dallas ICE Shooter ID’d; ‘Anti-ICE’ Messaging On Ammo, FBI Confirms
Politics
DHS: Deadly Dallas ICE shooting came a month after bomb threat at same office
DHS: Deadly Dallas ICE shooting came a month after bomb threat at same office
News
© 2025 Concealed Republican. All Rights Reserved.
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Press Release
  • Advertise
  • Contact
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Username or Email Address
Password

Lost your password?