Why Did We Let Big Tech Take Over Education?
Sophie Winkleman lays out the damage from the screen-based school day and shows how to roll it back.
CulturePsychology
After Babel.
Jon Haidt and team on how technology reshapes society and mental health.
Recent essays
30 of 41What Does a 13-Year-Old See on Snapchat in a Normal Week?
Two new studies show that kids and teens frequently encounter graphic violence, sexual content, and adult strangers on the app.
Teen Girls’ Suicide Rates Are Rising In Many Countries Around The World
New analyses from Europe, Japan, and South Korea show increases that in many cases began before COVID.
Limbic Capitalism Has Been Driving Addiction for Hundreds of Years
Historian David Courtwright helps us understand how we got here and what’s likely to come in this chapter from The Age of Addiction.
Why You Should Be a Techno-Skeptic
In his most urgent TED Talk yet, Jon Haidt reminds us that human connection is not optional.
Treasure Your Attention
Jonathan Haidt's advice to the NYU Class of 2026 on how to flourish in a world that raises many obstacles to human flourishing.
The State of Childhood in the U.S.
A new survey of U.S. parents by the Institute for Family Studies suggests that kids are still overprotected in the real world and underprotected online.
We Took Away the Phones — Now What?
How rebuilding youth community groups can restore a play-based childhood.
Don’t Let Big Tech Hide Behind a Rainbow Flag
Lennon Torres on why social media regulation is a prerequisite for LGBTQ safety.
The Case Against Social Media: Seven Lines of Evidence
Your guide to the evidence that will help decide thousands of future court cases.
How Indonesia is Protecting 80 Million Children from Online Harm
Their first-of-its-kind regulation cracks down on harmful design and incentivizes safer technology.
Phones at School: Less Learning, More Loneliness
A new analysis shows the twin impacts of the leisure use of devices during the school day: declines in test scores and increases in feelings of loneliness at school.
A Note on a Correction from Jon and Zach
Regarding our retraction of the guest post "30 Facts About Childhood Today that Will Terrify You"
Your Marriage Has a Third
What The Phone-Based Adulthood is Doing to Love and Sex
AI Can't Fix Student Engagement
Only a third of American kids are highly engaged in school. Developing students' curiosity and agency is the solution.
EdTech is Borrowing Zuckerberg's Playbook
The "No Evidence of Harm" Refrain is a Familiar Deflection
The Parenting Trap
How Modern Parenting Is Making Adolescence Harder
Why the World Is Drawing a Line on Social Media for Kids
What looked politically impossible just months ago has become a global movement to restrict kids’ access to social media. Here’s how it happened.
How to Evaluate Phone Policies in Schools
The Toolkit for Assessing Phones in Schools Release, Part 2
You Have To Be Human
I realize now that I want to be real
Scrolling Alone
A brief history of the trade-off between convenience and connection in America
Meta's Legal Team Abandoned Its Ethical Duties
From Big Tobacco to Menlo Park — and the collapse of legal ethics
Invitation to a Zoom Call With Jon Haidt and Zach Rausch, for Founding Members
Dear founding members of the After Babel Substack:
Invitation to a Zoom Call With Jon Haidt and Zach Rausch, for Paid Subscribers
Dear paid subscribers of After Babel,
Mountains of Evidence
Two new projects catalogue research on social media’s many harms to adolescents. Some of the strongest evidence comes from Meta.
Why Every Country Should Set 16 (or Higher) as the Minimum Age for Social Media Accounts
Four features of strong age-limit policies for countries ready to follow Australia’s brave lead
A Year of Real Progress for Kids
Highlights from our movement, our research, and our substack
The Amazing Generation is the Book Parents Have Been Asking For
Our new guide for kids ages 9–12 comes out December 30th.
Live with Katie Couric
A recording from Jon Haidt and Katie Couric's live video
How Tech Companies Rig Parental Guilt
Platforms profit from children’s attention while parents absorb the blame