• Jonathan Haidt’s recent interview with the Wall Street Journal about the crisis of Generation Z was met with ridicule and dismissal.
• Haidt’s concerns about depression and anxiety among Gen Z were overshadowed by the culture war.
• Suffering is an inevitable part of life, and teaching people how to respond to suffering and grow from it is an essential task of any community.
• Criticisms of Haidt’s argument are valid, but his perspective is more nuanced than Ben Shapiro’s.
• Resilience is an essential trait that should be taught to young people, but talk of toughness and resilience can be used opportunistically to dismiss demands for justice.
• Social media creates incentives to always find yourself on the “right side” of every debate, making it difficult to engage in subtlety and nuance.
Published January 2, 2023. Visit Freddie deBoer’s substack to read the original post.
