American schools will become wholly different places this academic year. That’s because over half of U.S. states have instituted smartphone bans, 22 of them during 2025 alone.
There are a lot of reasons for this change. But for our money, the biggest one of all is named Jonathan Haidt.
Haidt’s book, The Anxious Generation, articulated for parents, policymakers, and principals what they had already intuited: that smartphones are disrupting kids’ sleep and attention, social media is undermining their friendships and mental health, and that none of this belongs anywhere near a classroom—or in childhood itself.
The book hit like lightning.
It has sold 1.7 million copies and has been translated into 44 languages. It has remained on the New York Times Best Seller list for 74 weeks and counting. People as wide-ranging as Amy Schumer and Bill Gates have been spotted reading it in the wild. Most importantly, it’s been cited by politicians on the right (Arkansas governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders bought a copy of the book for every governor in America, and Arkansas was one of the first states to institute a bell-to-bell phone-free schools policy) as well as the left (New York governor Kathy Hochul, who has championed kids’ online safety alongside policies to promote childhood independence and play).
Like the best Free Press stories, Jon had the guts in this book and his previous works—I cannot recommend The Righteous Mind and The Coddling of the American Mind more highly—to ask the taboo questions right before our eyes: Why are teens suddenly so unhappy? Why are they losing attention, self-confidence, and the ability to socialize? Perhaps it has something to do with the mesmerizing device in their hands 10 to 12 hours a day.
In a world gone mad, Jonathan Haidt has made common sense a radical mission.
He is putting out excellent new research and writing every day with his research partner, Zach Rausch, and other brilliant colleagues over at After Babel, the Substack where they make sense of how technology is reshaping society—and offer practical guidance on how we can respond. Haidt and Rausch also run the Tech and Society Lab at NYU Stern, where they conduct research for human flourishing in the digital age and translate their findings into action, building a growing movement around The Anxious Generation.
I read their work. I value it. And I learn from it.
Which is why I’m thrilled to share that Jon, Zach, and their colleagues are joining The Free Press as contributors.
Throughout the year, their work will appear more often—sometimes tackling new research, sometimes exploring ideas in fresh ways—and always with the thoughtful perspective you’ve come to expect.
Please join me in welcoming them—and look out for Jon’s first essay soon.
In the meantime, we’re sharing a few of our favorite pieces from Jon and his colleagues:
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Author: Bari Weiss
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