The Anxious Generation
The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidtby Jonathan Haidt
Ranked 3 of 142 nonfiction books by recommenders
Recommended for its scientific case that social media harms children, especially under 16; critics say its evidence is weak and its charts don't support its conclusions.
21 people recommended The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt in Hacker News comments, 1 had mixed feelings and 11 criticized it, November 2025 to October 2026.
Summary written by Claude from 35 comments. It was written before the November 2026 recount, and 31 of those comments still count.
33 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 21
- mixed feelings
- 1
- warn against or regret it
- 11
The record
Recommended in 9 of 12 months
In 18 different threads.
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 21 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 1.9 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, not met.
- Recommended in 9 of 12 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
- Recommended in 18 threadsNeeds 5 or more, met.
- The biggest thread supplies 14% of its recommendersNeeds half or less, met.
The same rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. Mixed feelings count toward neither side. How the badge works
What people say about it
Reasons grouped from a sample of 29 of the 35 opinions about it, picked in proportion to how many people recommend it, have mixed feelings and criticize it. Each mark is one comment in the sample. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Insightful, clearly argued and well-written
“The Anxious Generation”- Jonathan Haidt put it across. Rey well.”
Comment from 3 May 2026 in “Utah to hold websites liable for users who mask their location with VPNs” “summarized well in the book “The Anxious Generation”
Comment from 20 Jan 2026 in “UK consulting on bringing in social media ban for under 16s” “It’s absolutely insightful for adults as well.”
Comment from 17 Nov 2025 in “Ask HN: What were the best books you read in 2025?” - Comment from 16 Nov 2025 in “Ask HN: What were the best books you read in 2025?”
Explains harm to young children
“a book where the author explains with scientific fundaments why lower age kids are more damaged from social media exposure”
Comment from 16 Jul 2026 in “Kids (With Phones) Are Alright” “As much as it is damaging to adults, it's much more so to children in early development all the way through puberty.”
Comment from 10 Feb 2026 in “Jury told that Meta, Google 'engineered addiction' at landmark US trial” “extensively explains the damage caused by social media before age 16”
Comment from 1 Jun 2026 in “Malaysia enforces ban on social media accounts for children younger than 16” Useful guidance for parents
“Reading "Anxious Generation" is a must for all parents in this day and age.”
Comment from 10 Dec 2025 in “Australia begins enforcing world-first teen social media ban” “goes into a lot of detail on this exact point about parental responsibility”
Comment from 27 Jan 2026 in “TikTok settles just before social media addiction trial to begin” “The book "The Anxious Generation" covers this in detail.”
Comment from 18 Dec 2025 in “How getting richer made teenagers less free” Well-researched with grounded data
“there is no good reason to doubt Haidt's research”
Comment from 5 Feb 2026 in “Study: emotional support from social media found to reduce anxiety” “lots of helpful grounded findings and data”
Comment from 27 Aug 2026 in “Did Meta's Big Settlement Actually Help It?”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Weak evidence for mental health claims
“Smartphones don't really have a discernible impact on mental health at a population level.”
Comment from 16 Apr 2026 in “The Future of Everything Is Lies, I Guess: Where Do We Go from Here?” “Haidt never manages to establish a link between social media and depression or anxiety”
Comment from 12 Dec 2025 in “Australia begins enforcing world-first teen social media ban” “haidt's own charts don't support his conclusions in that book”
Comment from 15 Mar 2026 in “Ageless Linux. We are legally required to ask how old you are. We won't” Poorly researched, questionable studies
“a very well-written house of cards built on questionable studies”
Comment from 11 Dec 2025 in “EFF launches Age Verification Hub” “Total garbage book, just no real basis in truth”
Comment from 5 Oct 2026 in “Jonathan Haidt: AI Is the 'Neutron Bomb for Education' [video]” “a poorly researched pile of dreck”
Comment from 4 Feb 2026 in “Study: emotional support from social media found to reduce anxiety” Criticized by experts and academics
“Jonathan Haidt's book isn't taken seriously in academia.”
Comment from 30 Jun 2026 in “Kids Act Would Require Age Checks to Get Online” “has been widely criticized by experts”
Comment from 16 Jun 2026 in “UK to require ID or face scan before you can make social media accounts” Oversimplified, repeats old tradition
“seems like just the latest entry in a tradition stretching thousands of years”
Comment from 18 Dec 2025 in “How getting richer made teenagers less free” “assures parents that there's just one easy trick to saving your children”
Comment from 10 Dec 2025 in “Australia begins enforcing world-first teen social media ban”
Other nonfiction books people recommend
The four most recommended other nonfiction books, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Mixed | Criticize | Approval | Months | Had for | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Cuckoo's Eggby Cliff Stoll | 38 | 1 | 0 | 100% | 8 | — | Approved |
| Amusing Ourselves to Deathby Neil Postman | 30 | 5 | 0 | 100% | 9 | — | Approved |
| The Anxious Generationby Jonathan HaidtThis page | 21 | 1 | 11 | 66% | 9 | — | — |
| Enshittificationby Cory Doctorow | 18 | 1 | 1 | 95% | 9 | — | Approved |
| Masters of Doomby David Kushner | 16 | 1 | 0 | 100% | 8 | — | Approved |
Also compared with Bullshit Jobs by David Graeber, Apple in China by Patrick McGee, If Anyone Builds It, Everyone Dies by Eliezer Yudkowsky and Nate Soares and Breakneck by Dan Wang.
What people said
29 of the 35 opinions about it, picked in proportion to the three counts, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“Haidt's arguments primarily pertain to public schools”
“Total garbage book, just no real basis in truth”
“Hopefully not Haidt’s book”
“lots of helpful grounded findings and data”
“a book where the author explains with scientific fundaments why lower age kids are more damaged from social media exposure”
“Jonathan Haidt's book isn't taken seriously in academia.”
“has been widely criticized by experts”
“see the Jonathan Hahdt book "the anxious generation”
“extensively explains the damage caused by social media before age 16”
“The Anxious Generation”- Jonathan Haidt put it across. Rey well.”
“Smartphones don't really have a discernible impact on mental health at a population level.”
“haidt's own charts don't support his conclusions in that book”
“The anxious generation is a best-selling book for no reason then.”
“As much as it is damaging to adults, it's much more so to children in early development all the way through puberty.”
“there is no good reason to doubt Haidt's research”
“a poorly researched pile of dreck”
“goes into a lot of detail on this exact point about parental responsibility”
“summarized well in the book “The Anxious Generation”
“I actually do think that Dr. Haidt is a good source for getting a fair understanding of both sides of the issue.”
“Anxious generation (great”
“seems like just the latest entry in a tradition stretching thousands of years”
“The book "The Anxious Generation" covers this in detail.”
“Haidt never manages to establish a link between social media and depression or anxiety”
“a very well-written house of cards built on questionable studies”
“assures parents that there's just one easy trick to saving your children”
“Reading "Anxious Generation" is a must for all parents in this day and age.”
“his book and all of the surrounding research has made me DRASTICALLY alter the way I use my own smartphone”
“It’s absolutely insightful for adults as well.”
“insightful and eye-opening”
Counts come from 1,791,911 Hacker News comments labeled by Claude, November 2025 to October 2026, with data through October 31, 2026. Counts updated 2 Nov 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.