Dr. Jonathan Haidt: How Smartphones & Social Media Impact Mental Health & the Realistic Solutions

Huberman Lab

Scicomm Media

Science, Health & Fitness, Life Sciences

4.8 • 26.2K Ratings

🗓️ 10 June 2024

⏱️ 147 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In this episode, my guest is Dr. Jonathan Haidt, Ph.D., professor of social psychology at New York University and bestselling author on how technology and culture impact the psychology and health of kids, teens, and adults. We discuss the dramatic rise of suicide, depression, and anxiety as a result of replacing a play-based childhood with smartphones, social media, and video games. He explains how a screen-filled childhood leads to challenges in psychological development that negatively impact learning, resilience, identity, cooperation, and conflict resolution — all of which are crucial skills for future adult relationships and career success. We also discuss how phones and social media impact boys and girls differently and the underlying neurobiological mechanisms of how smartphones alter basic brain plasticity and function. Dr. Haidt explains his four recommendations for healthier smartphone use in kids, and we discuss how to restore childhood independence and play in the current generation. This is an important topic for everyone, young or old, parents and teachers, students and families, to be aware of in order to understand the potential mental health toll of smartphone use and to apply tools to foster skill-building and reestablish healthy norms for our kids. For show notes, including referenced articles and additional resources, please visit hubermanlab.com. Thank you to our sponsors AG1: https://drinkag1.com/huberman Helix Sleep: https://helixsleep.com/huberman AeroPress: https://aeropress.com/huberman Joovv: https://joovv.com/huberman LMNT: https://drinklmnt.com/huberman Timestamps 00:00:00 Dr. Jonathan Haidt 00:02:01 Sponsors: Helix Sleep, AeroPress & Joovv 00:06:23 Great Rewiring of Childhood: Technology, Smartphones & Social Media 00:12:48 Mental Health Trends: Boys, Girls & Smartphones 00:16:26 Smartphone Usage, Play-Based to Phone-Based Childhood 00:20:40 The Tragedy of Losing Play-Based Childhood 00:28:13 Sponsor: AG1 00:30:02 Girls vs. Boys, Interests & Trapping Kids 00:37:31 “Effectance,” Systems & Relationships, Animals 00:41:47 Boys Sexual Development, Dopamine Reinforcement & Pornography 00:49:19 Boys, Courtship, Chivalry & Technology; Gen Z Development 00:55:24 Play & Low-Stakes Mistakes, Video Games & Social Media, Conflict Resolution 00:59:48 Sponsor: LMNT 01:01:23 Social Media, Trolls, Performance 01:06:47 Dynamic Subordination, Hierarchy, Boys 01:10:15 Girls & Perfectionism, Social Media & Performance 01:14:00 Phone-Based Childhood & Brain Development, Critical Periods 01:21:15 Puberty & Sensitive Periods, Culture & Identity 01:23:55 Brain Development & Puberty; Identity; Social Media, Learning & Reward 01:33:37 Tool: 4 Recommendations for Smartphone Use in Kids 01:41:48 Changing Childhood Norms, Policies & Legislature 01:49:13 Summer Camp, Team Sports, Religion, Music 01:54:36 Boredom, Addiction & Smartphones; Tool: “Awe Walks” 02:03:14 Casino Analogy & Ceding Childhood; Social Media Content 02:09:33 Adult Behavior; Tool: Meals & Phones 02:11:45 Regaining Childhood Independence; Tool: Family Groups & Phones 02:16:09 Screens & Future Optimism, Collective Action, KOSA Bill 02:24:52 Zero-Cost Support, Spotify & Apple Reviews, YouTube Feedback, Social Media, Neural Network Newsletter Disclaimer

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to the Huberman Lab Podcast, where we discuss science and science-based tools for everyday life.
0:06.0	I'm Andrew Huberman and I'm a professor of neurobiology and ophthalmology at Stanford School of Medicine.
0:14.7	My guest today is Dr. Jonathan Hite.
0:16.8	Dr. Jonathan Hite is a social psychologist and professor at New York University.
0:21.3	He is also the author of several important best-selling books,
0:24.2	including The Coddling of the American Mind and more recently the anxious generation
0:29.1	how the great rewiring of childhood is causing an epidemic of mental illness. And today we talk mainly
0:35.1	about the anxious generation. However, it is not a purely pessimistic conversation.
0:40.4	Indeed, Dr. Hite offers several clear solutions to the mental health crisis that now exists
0:47.0	and that we have all created through the use of smartphones, in particular in kids entering and transitioning through puberty.
0:55.0	During today's episode we discuss so-called critical or sensitive periods for social development,
1:00.5	for the development of an understanding about competition and violence about sex and how boys and girls are impacted differently by smartphone use and the specific solutions that do exist and that Dr. Hight is created that can place boys and girls as well as young adults
1:15.4	back on the trajectory of mental health.
1:18.2	So today's discussion is really one that brings together an understanding of neurobiology, psychology, social psychology, and
1:26.6	technology in ways that are designed to serve the most critical members of our
1:30.4	species, meaning our youth.
1:32.4	And for those that have already gone through youth,
1:34.4	today's discussion is also relevant to you.
1:36.9	Because as many of you know and perhaps have experienced,
1:40.3	most everybody nowadays is challenged in some way by smartphones both for the utility and the ways in which they can diminish our social and family interactions, academic performance and more.
1:51.0	So thanks to Dr. Hite, today's discussion really is a
1:54.0	solution-based one and it's one that is sure to educate, inform, and inspire
	...

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