THE ANXIOUS GENERATION: Impact Of The Great Rewiring On The Rise Of Mental Illness

By Michael Donald

A must-read for every parent: The Anxious Generation is a groundbreaking exploration of the youth mental health crisis in the age of smartphones, social media, and big tech paired with a clear roadmap for creating a healthier, more balanced childhood."With remarkable tenacity and clarity, Michael Donald unpacks the dangers of letting kids slip further into the digital void... while offering actionable solutions to help reclaim their well-being." -Michael Donald.

Over the past decade, the mental health of adolescents has taken a dramatic turn for the worse. After years of relative stability, rates of depression, anxiety, self-harm, and suicide have skyrocketed, doubling and, in some cases, tripling across numerous metrics. What happened? Why now?

In The Anxious Generation, social psychologist Michael Donald reveals the staggering facts behind this global epidemic of teen mental illness. Drawing on extensive research, Michael examines the evolution of childhood itself, emphasizing why play, independence, and exploration are vital for children to develop into confident, capable adults. He traces the gradual disappearance of the "play-based childhood," which began in the 1980s, and its rapid replacement with the "phone-based childhood," following the rise of smartphones and social media in the early 2010s.

Michael explains the profound ways this shift has rewired young minds, detailing over a dozen mechanisms through which modern childhood has been fundamentally disrupted. From sleep deprivation and fragmented attention to social comparison, loneliness, addiction, and perfectionism, he explores how these forces have undermined kids' social and neurological development. He highlights why social media disproportionately harms girls while boys retreat into virtual worlds-with devastating effects on themselves, their families, and society at large.

More than just a diagnosis, this book is a call to action. Michael offers practical, actionable steps for parents, educators, tech leaders, and policymakers to tackle the collective challenges fueling this crisis. He outlines four transformative rules to guide us toward solutions that restore childhood to its natural state-one of play, connection, and freedom.

With decades of experience addressing complex societal issues, Michael has long been a voice of truth, uniting data with compassion. Whether navigating politically polarized communities, cultural conflicts on college campuses, or the public health emergency facing today's youth, his insights are clear, urgent, and impossible to ignore.

The Anxious Generation is more than a book-it's a wake-up call to protect our children from the emotional fallout of a phone-centered world and to help them reclaim the wonder, resilience, and joy of a real childhood. This is a conversation we can no longer postpone.SCROLL UP TO THE RIGHT SIDE AND CLICK THE BUY BUTTON. LET'S ACT NOW FOR THE SAKE OF THE NEXT GENERATION.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0DSV1S8D8
• ISBN13: 9798306648446
• Release Date: January 2025
• Publisher: Independently published
• Length: 168 Pages
• Weight: 0.52 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.0" x 0.4" x 6.0"