What’s the book about?
A School Library Journal Best Book of the Year!
Jonathan Haidt’s blockbuster book, The Anxious Generation, has sparked a global conversation about the effects of smartphones and social media on young people’s development, and has inspired millions of parents, teachers, and leaders to take action. Now, Haidt and Catherine Price, author of the bestselling How to Break Up with Your Phone, have teamed up to create a new book that speaks directly to kids. Their goal? To empower young people to stand up for themselves by choosing a life not dominated by screens and social media.
Whether or not kids already have smartphones or social media accounts, this engaging guide is packed with surprising facts, a graphic novel, interactive challenges, secrets that tech leaders don’t want kids to know, and real-life anecdotes from young adults who regret getting smartphones at a young age and want to help the next generation avoid making the same mistakes.
But this isn’t just a book about what not to do. It’s a bold, optimistic, and practical guide to growing into your most authentic, confident, and adventurous self. Readers won’t just discover how to avoid becoming the next Anxious Generation. They’ll learn how to become amazing.
Recommended for:
Ages 10+
Three reasons to read it:
- The graphic novel section makes The Amazing Generation especially fun. Instead of only explaining ideas with text, the book uses illustrated stories by Yuan Cheng to show what life with and without constant screen time can look like. For kids who enjoy comics or visual storytelling, this part helps the message stick without feeling overwhelming or boring.
- Another exciting part of the book is how it shares surprising facts and behind-the-scenes information about technology and social media. The authors explain that many apps are designed to grab attention and keep people scrolling, which helps kids understand that it’s not their fault if phones feel hard to put down. Learning these “secrets” gives readers a sense of control.
- The book also stands out because it invites readers to take part through interactive challenges. Rather than simply telling kids what not to do, the book shows them what they can do. Reading becomes the starting point for real-life adventures, making the message feel exciting, positive and empowering.
Buy a copy of The Amazing Generation here.
About the author:
Jonathan Haidt (pronounced “Height”) is the Thomas Cooley Professor of Ethical Leadership at New York University’s Stern School of Business. He obtained his PhD in social psychology from the University of Pennsylvania in 1992 and taught at the University of Virginia for sixteen years. His research focuses on moral and political psychology, as described in his book The Righteous Mind. His latest book, The Anxious Generation, is a direct continuation of the themes explored in The Coddling of the American Mind (written with Greg Lukianoff). He writes the After Babel Substack.
Dubbed “the Marie Kondo of Brains” by The New York Times, Catherine Price is an award-winning health and science journalist and speaker, founder of Screen/Life Balance and the author of books, including How to Break Up with Your Phone and Vitamania: How Vitamins Revolutionized the Way We Think About Food. Her work has appeared in The Best American Science Writing, The New York Times, Popular Science, O: The Oprah Magazine, Los Angeles Times, Time magazine, San Francisco Chronicle, The Washington Post Magazine, Slate, Men’s Journal, Self, and Outside, among others. Her goal is to help people scroll less and live more.
Cynthia Yuan Cheng grew up reading manga and playing American football, and later graduated from MICA with a B.F.A. in Illustration and a concentration in Sequential Art. In their free time, they enjoy hanging out with friends and hunting for the best desserts in town. Cynthia is a New York Times and Publishers Weekly best-selling cartoonist.
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