How to Fix Gen Z?: Jonathan Haidt On The Youth Mental Health Crisis
The Anxious Generation: How Smartphones Rewired Childhood – and How Play Can Restore Resilience
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Bestselling author and social psychologist Jonathan Haidt has dedicated his career to speaking truth and wisdom in some of the most challenging spaces – communities polarised by politics and religion and university campuses mired in culture wars. Now he turns his attention to what he sees as a perfect storm of factors that are causing a collapse in mental health among teenagers today. According to the American College Health Association, since 2010 anxiety among American college students has increased by 134%, depression by 106%, bipolar disorder by 57%, and anorexia by 100%.
On April 30 Haidt comes to the Intelligence Squared stage where in conversation with BBC presenter Sarah Montague he will draw on his new book The Anxious Generation, which has shot to No 1 in the Sunday Times bestsellers. He will argue that the decline of free play in childhood and the rise of smartphone use among adolescents are the twin sources of increased mental distress among teenagers. He will show how, between 2010 and 2015, as teens traded in their flip phones for smartphones packed with social media apps, time online soared. This profound shift took place against a backdrop of diminishing childhood freedom, as parents over-supervised every aspect of their children’s lives offline, depriving them of the face-to-face experiences with their peers which they need to become strong and self-governing adults. In short, childhood got rewired.
Haidt will argue that it isn’t too late to put the genie back in the bottle. Against the backdrop of the growing movement to ban smartphones in schools, he will draw on traditional wisdom and cutting-edge research to offer practical advice to parents, teachers and teenagers,
Join us for an urgent and insightful investigation into the crisis of youth mental health today.
'Compelling, readable, remarkably persuasive‘ – The Daily Telegraph
‘Deals seriously with counter-arguments and gaps in the evidence … all the suggestions sound sensible. Some even sound fun’ – The Economist
‘His data is startling … robust scientific evidence for what we all assume is true” – The Spectator
‘If this important book rings enough alarms to make politicians impose a genuine social media ban on children, I believe most parents would be happy and most teenagers happier’ – The Times, Book of the Week
‘An urgent and essential read. Haidt argues that governments should legally assert that tech companies have a duty of care to young people’ – The Guardian
Book For A Pre-Show Dinner
Make your free dinner reservation to eat at our Margins Café before the show!
You must have a general admission ticket for the show to gain entry for dinner.
Doors will open for early dinner ticket holders at 17:30.
The Margins Café serves delicious, freshly prepared food at gigs and events. All profits go towards The Margins Project, based here at the Chapel which works with people who face issues of homelessness and crisis.
Book Your Dinner Reservation HERE
More Information:
The venue has unreserved seating and are taken on a first come first serve basis. Please arrive early before event door times if you have preferred seats. Due to the nature of our venue, please be prepared to queue for entry.
The venue is fully accessible, with use of ramps and the upstairs bar is accessible with use of a platform lift. Please email [email protected] with your accessibility requirements.
The bar is located on the first floor of the venue and will be open from the stated door time and remain open after the show.
Alcohol consumption will be limited to the bar area only, it is not permitted to take alcohol to the main chapel space. An array of soft drinks and snacks will also be available and are permitted in the main space. (Please note, no food or drink may be brought from outside into the venue).