In “The Anxious Generation,” the sociologist laid out the evils of social media for kids. The landmark Meta settlement seems to agree.
The day the social media giant Meta agreed to as much as a $17.1 billion settlement over claims it had endangered children, the social psychologist Jonathan Haidt was on deadline. He was supposed to hand in revisions for the second edition of his book blasting social media companies for endangering children. He got a two day extension.
Mr. Haidt’s 2024 book, “The Anxious Generation,” was a runaway best seller that provided a reference text for a coalition forming to shield children from big tech, a loose collective of protective parents, fed-up teenagers, aspiring presidential candidates and celebrities in search of a non-radioactive social cause. (Not that many people are proud to say kids should spend more time on Instagram reels.)
On Wednesday, as Meta agreed to its landmark settlement, Mr. Haidt was doing a victory lap. In an interview, he described the moment in the sweeping terms of the founders he has challenged, prophesying with a tech titan’s sunny conviction.
“We’re putting the cat back in the bag,” Mr. Haidt said. “We’re going through a historic turning point from techno optimism to techno skepticism.”
The book has, in fact, spurred people to action. Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders of Arkansas sent copies of it to the 49 other governors. Mr. Haidt discussed it with Gov. Kathy Hochul of New York and Gov. Spencer Cox in Utah, along with Meghan Markle, Oprah Winfrey, Jessica Seinfeld and Katie Couric. Ever industrious, the author turned the book into a campaign and forthcoming documentary.
As Mr. Haidt was working on the book, a coalition of states were coming together to sue Meta for the harm it was causing children. The attorneys general and plaintiffs say that Meta’s algorithms trap its users in the infinite scroll, hours of time spent staring at half-naked influencers or malnourished celebrities, images that breed body dysmorphia, anxiety and depression. Mr. Haidt met with some of the attorneys general on Zoom, briefing them on his research.
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