What if social media isn’t hurting kids?

Two years ago, social psychologist Jonathan Haidt released his New York Times bestseller The Anxious Generation. The book posits that the rise of social media and smartphone use is largely to blame for the prominent decline in teen mental health since 2010.

It quickly became a central rallying cry of the social media backlash. Haidt has been credited with helping inspire Australia's nationwide teen social media ban. He has joined forces with bereaved parents who are fighting tech companies in court .

His name comes up unprompted in conversations with people in power who say his book opened their eyes to an online crisis. Haidt's theory has … Read the full story at The Verge.

In Digital, FlexChar puts this story at the center of the day: Two years ago, social psychologist Jonathan Haidt released his New York Times bestseller The Anxious Generation. The book posits that the rise of social media and smartphone use is largely to blame for the prominent decline in teen mental health since 2010. FlexChar is surfacing it because it is driving searches and conversation right now.