Podcast Summary:

The Interview – BBC World Service
Guest: Professor Jonathan Haidt, Social Psychologist
Host: Amol Rajan
Episode Title: Jonathan Haidt, social psychologist: We're at a tipping point for kids and technology
Date: February 16, 2026

Main Theme / Purpose

This episode features a conversation with Professor Jonathan Haidt, author of The Anxious Generation, focusing on the impact of smartphones, social media, and educational technology on young people's mental health and development. Haidt argues that we are now at a global tipping point—a public, political, and parental awakening—to the deep harms technology is inflicting on children and teens. The discussion traverses the evidence base surrounding mental health crises, the role of tech companies, and urgent changes needed both legislatively and culturally.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Devices and Education: A Fundamental Error

• Haidt’s central thesis: The introduction of multi-function devices (tablets, laptops) into classrooms and the hands of young children was a grave mistake.
  • [02:07, Haidt:] “You put a multifunction device on a kid's desk ... What do they do? Mostly video games and short videos ... It was a huge mistake to put kids on devices. Look, when they're 17, 15, of course they need to use the technology when they're 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10. No. ... The technology is devastating.”
• Attempts to control usage (filters, supervision) devolve into a cat-and-mouse game.
• Parents are particularly frustrated since children often bring devices home, undermining any ability to maintain limits.
• International examples: Sweden and Denmark, having been early champions of tech in the classroom, are now reversing course—returning to pencils, paper, and books for primary-age children.
  • [09:07, Haidt:] “Beginning last year, the Swedes began saying this was a huge mistake. We're going back to paper and pencil, back to books. ... Denmark said, we're doing the same thing. It was a huge mistake to put kids on devices.”

2. Public Health and Mental Health Crisis: Global and Non-Partisan

• Haidt describes a “public health disaster” and an “education disaster” linked to dramatic changes in childhood driven by technology.
  • [02:58, Haidt:] “There is a public health disaster, there is an education disaster. It all can be traced to the same cause, which is the change technology has made in our kids' childhood.”
• There’s been a shift: politicians previously thought acting against tech use would be unpopular, but data now shows parents, young adults, and the wider public all strongly support stricter regulations, especially bans on social media for those under 16.
  • [03:13, Haidt:] “Public opinion desperately wants an under 16 ban. Parents support it. And not only parents support it. Young adults support it ... we all see what's happened to our kids.”

3. The Role of Tech Companies & Lobbying

• Tech giants, especially Meta (Facebook, Instagram), have deliberately blurred the discourse around tech harms, both through lobbying and PR campaigns, slowing legislative progress.
  • [05:24, Haidt:] “Meta basically blocked [the Kids Online Safety Act] with its influence on the Republican party and Congress.”
• Haidt acknowledges Meta's standard rebuttals, which invoke the multifactorial nature of mental health and caution against simplifying causes.
  • [Host reads Meta response at 05:34-06:19; Haidt breaks down his viewpoint immediately after.]

4. Depression, Anxiety, and Cognitive Decline: The Evidence

• Haidt connects the sharp increase in depression and anxiety—particularly among girls—to the post-2012 ubiquity of smartphones and social media.
  • [07:04, Amol Rajan:] “Something's happened since 2012, 2013 ... One is depression, anxiety. Another is ... stupidity. We are getting less smart. Why?”
• Citing research: Girls who spend significant time on social media are 2-3 times likelier to suffer from depression and anxiety than light users.
  • [06:19, Haidt:] “My argument has been, wow, you look at the girls who are spending a lot of time on social media and they're two to three times more depressed or anxious.”
• Drop in academic scores and even IQ in numerous countries aligned temporally with tech saturation in schools ([07:24-09:08]).
• Tech’s stated educational equity benefits have largely failed; distraction outweighs any positives.

5. Loneliness: Not Just an Elderly Problem Anymore

• Loneliness has moved from being predominantly an issue for the elderly to a major affliction among the young.
  • [12:31, Amol Rajan:] “Loneliness used to be a phenomenon of the very old. It's increasingly a phenomenon of the young.”
• Haidt describes the evolution of teen tech: from brick phones (calls, texts, limited games) to full “brand management” and constant comparison on smartphones with cameras and perpetual connectivity ([12:47-14:14]):
  • [13:47, Haidt:] “It's all being a brand manager all the time. It's all constant social comparison. And that's why we see this incredibly sharp elbow for the girls ... And then all of a sudden, like a hockey stick.”

6. Correlation vs. Causation: Is Tech Actually to Blame?

• Critics (Meta, some academics) argue that mental health trends may arise from broader awareness, societal change, willingness to medicalize. Haidt responds:
  • The timing and universality of the trend—in US, Canada, UK, Scandinavia, globally—cannot be accounted for by those factors.
  • [14:39, Haidt:] “No one has come up with an alternate explanation other than the technological change that we just discussed.”
• Haidt uses “forensic reasoning”: surveys of teens, parents, and practitioners overwhelmingly pinpoint technology and social media as causing harm.
  • [16:39, Haidt:] "Survey the kids, what do they say? ... About 20 to 30% say it harmed their own mental health ... The surveys show they think it does more harm than good."
• Internal documents from tech companies (Meta, Snap, TikTok) and whistleblower leaks further bolster the causality argument ([14:39-17:38]).

7. Counterarguments and Critique

• Candice Odgers (UC Irvine/Duke) reviewed Haidt’s work, critiquing an overfocus on digital technology and cautioning against ignoring “the real causes” such as poverty, racism, inequality.
  • [18:22, Haidt:] “Those do make you at higher risk for mental illness. Did those suddenly radically increase in 2012 in the U.S. canada, Australia, New Zealand, Scandinavia, Europe? I don't think so.”

8. Let Children Be Children

• The goal isn’t to abolish technology but to keep children within developmentally appropriate boundaries.
  • [19:04, Amol Rajan:] “I think you celebrate these extraordinary machines ... But the other thing is, I think there's a sort of spirit of your work which is just to let children be children.”
  • [19:11, Haidt:] “That's right.”
• Learning “hard things” socially cannot be offloaded to a device. Phones let children avoid vital social skill development.
  • [19:14, Haidt:] “Technology makes things easy for us. It makes us more efficient. Children need to do hard things thousands and thousands of times. They need to do hard social things thousands and thousands of times.”

9. Messages & Practical Guidance

To Children & Teens

• Listen to older teens and young adults; many feel regret for what they lost to tech.
• [19:53, Haidt:] “Use technology as a tool. Don't let technology use you. ... Fill your life with real friendship, freedom and fun.”

To Parents

• No screens in bedrooms—ever. Start this habit early.
  • [20:24, Haidt:] “No screens of any kind in bedrooms ever ... Your life's gonna be a lot better, a lot less conflict.”
• Distinguish ‘good’ from ‘bad’ screen time:
  • Good: Watching long stories or movies, especially communally, which cultivate attention and moral development ([21:40, Haidt:]).
  • Bad: Touchscreen devices with rapid, fragmented content—“little Skinner boxes” maximizing instant gratification and distraction.

To Policy Makers

• Politicians must recognize the public is ahead of them in demanding protective measures.
  • [03:13, Haidt:] “We're all sick of it. We all see what's happened to our kids. Public opinion desperately wants an under 16 ban.”

10. Can Bans Work? What About Dark Corners?

• Common argument: Bans will drive under-16s to riskier, less regulated platforms.
• Haidt replies:
  • Kids mostly want not to be left out rather than desperate for social media per se.
  • Updates from Australia (with a national under-16 ban): Social media account removals vastly exceeded the number of kids; VPN use spiked at first but dropped off due to friction.
  • [23:37, Haidt:] “A little bit of friction and they find something else.”

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “It was a huge mistake to put kids on devices. ... The technology is devastating.”
  — Jonathan Haidt [02:07]
• “There is a public health disaster ... traced to the change technology has made in our kids' childhood.”
  — Haidt [02:58]
• “Parents Support it. And not only parents support it. Young adults support it. The people who just went through this, they also say ban it for under 16s.”
  — Haidt [03:13]
• “Meta basically blocked [online child safety legislation] with its influence.”
  — Haidt [05:24]
• “It's all being a brand manager all the time. It's all constant social comparison ... and then, like a hockey stick.”
  — Haidt [13:47]
• “No one has come up with an alternate explanation other than the technological change that we just discussed.”
  — Haidt [14:39]
• “You want your child to struggle and learn. That's how they learn.”
  — Haidt [19:14]
• “Use technology as a tool. Don't let technology use you.”
  — Haidt [19:53]
• "No screens of any kind in bedrooms ever."
  — Haidt [20:24]

Important Timestamps

• [02:07]: Haidt on tech in classrooms and the "huge mistake" of young children using devices
• [03:13]: The tipping point—public and political attitudes toward tech bans for under-16s
• [05:24]: Tech company lobbying and the Kids Online Safety Act
• [07:04]: Correlation between tech, mental health, and cognitive decline
• [09:07]: Sweden and Denmark reversing tech-in-classroom policies
• [12:31]: Loneliness in youth; shift in prevalence from elderly to young
• [14:39]: Causation vs. correlation; cross-national evidence
• [16:39]: “Forensic” analogy—surveys and internal company evidence
• [18:22]: Addressing critique: poverty, racism, and 2012 spike in mental health issues
• [19:53]: Key messages for children, parents, and policymakers
• [23:35]: Will bans just send kids underground? Early outcomes from Australia

Conclusion

Jonathan Haidt makes a persuasive, data-driven case for urgent action on technology’s effects on children, pointing to mounting evidence and cross-partisan consensus. He calls for hard boundaries in schools and homes, policies that reflect public will, and a cultural shift that lets children develop the foundational skills of childhood—largely undistracted by screens.