What if social media isn’t hurting kids?

Jonathan Haidt’s 2022 book *The Anxious Generation* attributes the sharp decline in teen mental health since 2010 to increased social-media and smartphone use, a claim that has fueled the social-media backlash. His work has influenced policy, helping inspire Australia’s nationwide teen-social-media ban, and has prompted bereaved parents to sue tech companies in court. Haidt’s ideas routinely appear in discussions with policymakers who credit his book with revealing an online crisis.