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Jonathan Haidt

Thomas Cooley Professor of Ethical Leadership, NYU Stern; author, New York University

Search every verified Jonathan Haidt interview, podcast appearance, and on-the-record quote — each transcript cross-checked by AI and human review to confirm speaker identity. Jonathan Haidt, author of “The Anxious Generation” and a professor at NYU Stern, appeared on the Hard Fork podcast on January 16, 2026, to discuss new research on social media’s effects on teenagers. During the episode, he stated that while he cannot be certain social media caused a notable increase in adolescent mental health issues around 2012, he expressed 99.9% confidence that social media is currently harming millions of children. He also addressed ongoing academic debates about causation versus correlation, saying that there is substantial evidence of causation and that Meta’s defenses often rely on claims that no such evidence exists. Haidt’s appearance focused on his role in a broader movement against social media platforms, with the episode’s hosts noting his prominence in that global conversation. The discussion also touched on recent legislative developments, including a U.S. Senate bill allowing victims of non-consensual sexually explicit images to sue, though Haidt’s specific comments on that bill were not included in the provided material.

Recent appearances

  • Jonathan Haidt: AI Is the ‘Neutron Bomb for Education’

    October 04, 2026 · 📺 The Atlantic

    Long before he became famous as the author of The Anxious Generation, Jonathan Haidt was a social psychologist whose work revolutionized the field. In this episode of The Permanent Questions, taped in front of a live audience at last month’s Atlantic Festival, David Brooks talks with Haidt about his biggest lessons from 40 years of studying human nature. David and Haidt discuss the role of the emotions in moral decision making, how to design a system that produces less loathsome elites, and why AI is “the neutron bomb for education.” Subscribe to “The Permanent Questions” podcast on Apple Po…

    Read the verified transcript → Watch on YouTube ↗

  • NYU Professor: Do This for 2 Weeks to Get Your Focus, Motivation, & Life Back

    September 14, 2026 · 📺 Mel Robbins

    This is one of the most eye-opening conversations Mel has had on the podcast. Today, Dr. Jonathan Haidt joins Mel to explain what constant quick dopamine is doing to attention, motivation, confidence, and mental health - and why the impact looks very different in boys than it does in girls. This conversation could not be more timely. Meta recently agreed to a landmark $17.1 billion settlement in a major case accusing the company of endangering children by designing its platforms to be addictive to kids and teens. And, today, you’re going to hear from one of the experts, Dr. Haidt, whose gro…

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  • How Screens Stole Childhood — and How to Get It Back | Jonathan Haidt | TED

    June 04, 2026 · 📺 TED

    Humans aren't just social — we're ultrasocial, wired like bees and ants for deep connection. So what happens when smartphones take over childhood, tablets replace textbooks and AI companies infiltrate our kids’ lives? Social psychologist Jonathan Haidt lays out three principles of technoskepticism — and explains why, two years after sounding the alarm in "The Anxious Generation," he's more concerned (and hopeful) than ever before. (Recorded at TED2026 on April 15, 2026) Join us in person at a TED conference: https://tedtalks.social/events Become a TED Member to support our mission: https://te…

    Read the verified transcript → Watch on YouTube ↗

  • Commencement 2026: Jonathan Haidt Address

    May 19, 2026 · 📺 New York University

    NYU has been my favorite university since 2011 and purple has been my favorite color since I was seven years old. NYU class of ...

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  • Jonathan Haidt Brings New Evidence to the Battle Against Social Media | Hard Fork

    January 16, 2026 · 📺 Hard Fork

    Jonathan Haidt, author of “The Anxious Generation,” returns to the show to discuss new research about how social media is harming teens and what it’s been like to become the face of a global movement against the platforms. Then, we asked what you were building with Claude Code, and you blew us away. We’ll share some of our favorite projects that you sent us. And finally, we’re joined by PJ Vogt, the host of “Search Engine,” to talk about our early adventures in the Forkiverse and what we’ve learned so far about running a social media network. For more on this episode, go to https://www.nytime…

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  • The Anxious Generation with Jonathan Haidt | What Now? with Trevor Noah Podcast

    May 15, 2025 · 📺 Trevor Noah

    Jonathan Haidt, noted social psychologist and author of The Anxious Generation, sits down with us to discuss how smartphones and social media are harming Gen Z – and really all of us. He encourages claiming back third spaces, championing anti-fragility, and … maybe letting your kid go take a walk.  00:00 Cold Opening Intro 01:05 Introduction to the youth mental health crisis 04:42 The shift from play-based to phone-based childhood 16:14 Gaming addiction and its impact on boys 30:01 Digital dangers and pornography accessibility 51:55 Social media's devastating impact on girls' mental health 01…

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  • Screens, Stress, and Struggling Kids—Jonathan Haidt Breaks It Down

    April 29, 2025 · 📺 TEDMED

    Are we failing to protect kids in the digital age? In this TEDMED Conversation, psychologist and bestselling author Jonathan Haidt dives into the alarming rise in youth anxiety, depression, and attention fragmentation—and how smartphones, social media, and a culture of overprotection are making things worse. Based on insights from his latest book The Anxious Generation, Haidt offers a bold call to action for parents, educators, doctors, and policymakers. 🎧 Subscribe and listen on YouTube and Spotify #MentalHealth #DigitalWellbeing #JonathanHaidt #TheAnxiousGeneration #SocialMediaAddiction #…

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  • Jonathan Haidt on How to Free the Anxious Generation (Part 1)

    April 28, 2025 · 📺 Intelligence Squared

    Join this channel to get access to perks:    / @intelligence-squared   The mental health of young people has become one of the most pressing issues of our time. In recent months, debates have raged about the impact of smartphones on adolescent wellbeing: Should they be banned in schools? Should children under 14 or 16 even have access to them? These questions have fuelled a growing movement to address the crisis in youth mental health — and no one has done more to lead this conversation than American social psychologist Jonathan Haidt. Haidt’s groundbreaking book, The Anxious Generation: How…

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  • Oprah and Jonathan Haidt on How Social Media Is Changing Childhood

    April 08, 2025 · 📺 Oprah

    Subscribe:    / @oprah   We are only just beginning to understand the impact social media and smart devices are having on the mental and emotional well-being of teens and children around the world. In this episode of “The Oprah Podcast,” Oprah talks to Jonathan Haidt: a social psychologist, NYU professor and the New York Times bestselling author of "The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness." Jonathan will share why he believes the skyrocketing rates of anxiety, depression and addictive behaviors in teenagers can be directly linked to…

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  • The Anxious Generation: how phone-free schools can reverse a mental health pandemic

    March 12, 2025 · 📺 World Economic Forum

    In The Anxious Generation, Jonathan Haidt says there is clear evidence that giving children smart phones with addictive social media has caused a mental health pandemic. The NYU-Stern social psychologist, who also wrote The Happiness Hypothesis, spoke to us at the Annual Meeting 2025 in Davos. Check out all our podcasts on wef.ch/podcasts: Radio Davos - subscribe: https://pod.link/1504682164 Meet the Leader - subscribe: https://pod.link/1534915560 Agenda Dialogues - subscribe: https://pod.link/1574956552 Join the World Economic Forum Podcast Club:   / wefpodcastclub   The World Economic For…

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  • Jonathan Haidt and Guests: "The Anxious Generation on The Anxious Generation"

    June 26, 2024 · 📺 New York University

    Recording of “the anxious generation on The Anxious Generation” — a conversation that brings together on stage Thomas Cooley Professor of Ethical Leadership at NYU Stern Jonathan Haidt with students in the generation that is the main subject of Professor Haidt’s latest book. Recorded live at New York University on April 17. Learn more at nyu.edu/in-dialogue.

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  • How Smartphones & Social Media Impact Mental Health & the Realistic Solutions | Dr. Jonathan Haidt

    June 10, 2024 · 📺 Andrew Huberman

    See Andrew Huberman live in New York, Los Angeles & San Francisco: https://go.hubermanlab.com/protocols-... In this episode, my guest is Dr. Jonathan Haidt, Ph.D., professor of social psychology at New York University and bestselling author on how technology and culture impact the psychology and health of kids, teens, and adults. We discuss the dramatic rise of suicide, depression, and anxiety as a result of replacing a play-based childhood with smartphones, social media, and video games.   He explains how a screen-filled childhood leads to challenges in psychological development that negati…

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Notable quotes

“We do know that when people start using it, the term used to be cognitive offloading, but the more recent term is cognitive surrender, and I've begun to feel this in myself, is just let it do it. Just let it do it. One of the most profound effects that I think it's going to have is already having is that we don't need each other as much. And if you have a civilization where people don't need each other, lots of bad t”

“Social media took over our social relationships so that kids no longer call each other on the phone. They don't hang out together as much. They don't play games physically together as much. It kind of sucked the humanity out. We all feel that. But if you suck the humanity out of kids before puberty, and they go through puberty without this intense socializing, then I think you're really blocking and warping their hum”

“But what I've learned in the last 2 years is that I grossly understated the damage in the anxious generation, because I focused on the mental health outcomes. That's where we have to That's data, that's where we're doing the most work. But I now believe that an even larger damage is the diminishment of the human capacity to pay sustained attention. One-third of all American teens say that they're on a social media pl”

“What you pay attention to shapes what you care about and what you care about shapes what you become. Taking control of your own attention has never been easy, which is why it's one of the many things this university has tried to prepare you to do. There are so many powerful people and companies trying to take that choice from you. They compete with each other to capture your attention. Now, think about that phrase. I”

“I can't say that I'm certain that social media caused the big increase in 2012. But I can say I am 99.9% confident at this point that social media is hurting kids by the millions.”

“So when my book came out, I thought that the main problem was mental health and there's a big debate in the academic world. Well, okay, people who use social media more are more depressed, but is that correlation or is it causation? And that has kind of defined the scope of the debate and that's gone on for a couple of years now. And it's what Mark Zuckerberg says to defend himself. Oh, there's no evidence of causati”

Other executives at New York University

  • Gary Marcus, Professor Emeritus of Psychology and Neural Science; author and AI researcher
  • Jeff Sebo, Associate Professor of Environmental Studies; Director, Center for Mind, Ethics, and Policy

The summary and quote tags on this profile are produced with AI assistance from verified, first-person interview transcripts, then checked by our team to confirm the speaker's identity and the accuracy of every quote. See how we verify →