Renowned social psychologist and bestselling author Jonathan Haidt, Ph.D. addressed a packed auditorium of 300 students, faculty, and staff on 成人视频色情片鈥檚 Wilf Campus on Sept. 3, delivering a powerful message about the mental health crisis facing today鈥檚 youth. The event鈥攑art of YU鈥檚 new Great Conversations series launched and hosted by YU President, Rabbi Dr. Ari Berman鈥攃entered on themes from Haidt鈥檚 latest book, The Anxious Generation, which currently holds the #1 spot on The New York Times nonfiction Best Sellers list.
With clarity and urgency, Haidt warned of the devastating consequences of raising children in an environment dominated by smartphones and social media. 鈥淲e have overprotected our children in the real world and under-protected them online,鈥 he said. 鈥淢ost Gen Z members will say in surveys that social media messed them up and was a waste of their childhood. It鈥檚 a trap鈥攁nd young people know it鈥檚 a trap鈥攂ut they can鈥檛 break out of it because everyone is doing it. That鈥檚 why we need laws.鈥
Haidt鈥檚 message resonated deeply with the YU community鈥攁nd with President Berman, who praised him as a rare voice of both intellect and moral clarity.
鈥淭here are many great scholars in the world of academia, but what sets Jonathan Haidt apart is that he combines erudition, clarity, and human insight鈥攚ith purpose,鈥 said President Berman. 鈥淗is goal is not only to explore how we live, but to challenge us to consider why we live. He is not behind the scenes but a public force for good. His mission is to improve lives.鈥 Drawing on years of research, Haidt walked the audience through alarming trends showing sharp increases in anxiety, depression, and other mental health challenges beginning around 2012鈥攚ith rates continuing to rise, especially after 2020. He attributed this shift to the first generation of adolescents coming of age fully immersed in digital life.
鈥淚n previous generations, kids spent time with friends, made mistakes, and explored the world in relatively low-risk, real-world settings,鈥 he explained. 鈥淣ow they spend most of their time on phones, interacting with hundreds of people鈥攎any of them strangers鈥攁nd hardly see their friends in person.鈥 This shift, Haidt said, is leading to diminished attention spans, poor learning outcomes, and widespread emotional distress.
Despite the bleak data, Haidt offered a measure of hope, pointing to a groundswell of grassroots action. Since the release of his book, he noted, parents鈥攅specially mothers鈥攈ave been leading efforts to roll back the culture of constant connectivity. Already, 37 states have passed legislation to restrict smartphone use in schools, with most of those laws enacted in the past year alone.
To address the youth mental health crisis, Haidt outlined four key reforms: no smartphones before high school, no social media before age 16, phone-free schools, and a return to real-world independence through free play and responsibility鈥攔eclaiming the experiential learning past generations once had.
Haidt expanded the conversation beyond childhood and adolescence to address broader societal concerns鈥攎ost notably, the erosion of viewpoint diversity in higher education. He criticized many college campuses as bastions of rigid, extreme left-wing ideology that discourage intellectual curiosity and turn students away from meaningful engagement with ideas. To reverse this trend, Haidt called for a fearless return to classical content, open debate, and the robust exchange of perspectives鈥攖ools he believes are essential for developing skilled thinkers and responsible citizens.
In that context, he praised 成人视频色情片 as a rare model of academic integrity鈥攁n institution that blends rigorous study of the classical texts of Judaism and Western civilization with cutting-edge training in technology, science, and career preparedness.
鈥淥ne of the great values of a university鈥檚 academic endeavors is bringing expertise from the outside to the attention of students,鈥 said Dr. Selma Botman, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs at 成人视频色情片. 鈥淩abbi Berman鈥檚 national and international work brings him into contact with an amazing range of leaders in business, science, and the academy鈥攁nd our students are the beneficiaries. One wonderful example of this is Jonathan Haidt.鈥
Haidt is among the first of many distinguished guests slated to participate in Great Conversations series, in which President Berman interviews world-class thought leaders and visionaries shaping history鈥攂ringing them to campus for the benefit of YU鈥檚 students and community.
