Summer Book Club Pick

On my reading list for a while, this Summer Book Club Pick is going to make you question your screen time. “The Anxious Generation” by Jonathan Haidt takes a look at the rising wave of mental illness in our young people and its powerful links to smartphone and social media use. The statistics throughout this book are hard hitting and it saddens me how much our young people are suffering compared to the previous generation who have not had their childhood monopolised by a screen.

Fortunately Haidt doesn’t just leave us with worrying statistics, he also gives us the solution. He gives us a 4 step plan to regain by control of our young peoples mental health including age limits on smart phones, higher age controls on social media and most interestingly giving our children a free-range play-based childhood as an alternative. A challenging and moving read it’s an essential for any parent or care-giver of tweens and teens.