Episode · The Jordan B. Peterson Podcast · 2025-06-19
Books mentioned on 556. How Social Media Is Wrecking Kids' Lives and Stealing Their Childhood | Jonathan Haidt
In this urgent conversation, Jonathan Haidt and Jordan Peterson dissect the silent catastrophe facing Gen Z—spiraling anxiety, attention collapse, and social isolation—all amplified by addictive tech.
Books mentioned, in the order they came up
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The Anxious Generation
The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt is an influential examination of how smartphone technology, social media, and shifting childhood experiences have driven a severe mental health crisis among modern youth.
Discussed“He's the author of a number of books, The Coddling of the American Mind, The Righteous Mind, The Happiness Hypothesis, and most recently, The Anxious Generation, which is the focus of our discussion today.”
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Dopamine Nation
Dopamine Nation by Anna Lembke, MD is a non-fiction book that explores how modern abundance leads to compulsive overconsumption and how understanding brain chemistry can help people overcome behavioral and substance addictions.
Discussed“And this is Anna LMK's wonderful book, Dopamine Nation, was television, but you could have a habit, but it wasn't it didn't cause addiction in the same way.”
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Daring Young Men
Daring Young Men by Richard Reeves, widely recognized by its subtitle Of Boys and Men, is a sociological examination of the structural and educational challenges currently facing males in modern society.
Discussed“Well, so the boy's story is different from the girl story and it's a story of checking out of the real world and I draw from this in part on Richard Reeves who's a wonderful book of boys and men. He points out that you know boys and men used to dominate the economy and society in many ways.”
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Of Boys and Men
Of Boys and Men by Richard Reeves is a sociological examination of the modern struggles facing males, focusing on structural disadvantages in education, the labor market, and family life.
Discussed“Well, so the boy's story is different from the girl story and it's a story of checking out of the real world and I draw from this in part on Richard Reeves who's a wonderful book of boys and men. He points out that you know boys and men used to dominate the economy and society in many ways.”
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The Righteous Mind
The Righteous Mind by Jonathan Haidt is a psychology and sociology book that examines the intuitive foundations of morality and why good people are divided by politics and religion.
Discussed“That figures in my first book the happiness hypothesis and again in my book the righteous mind in trying to understand moral emotions.”
Other mentions in this episode (3) — ad reads, self-promotion and passing references, never counted
“He's the author of a number of books, The Coddling of the American Mind, The Righteous Mind, The Happiness Hypothesis, and most recently, The Anxious Generation, which is the focus of our discussion today.”
“He's the author of a number of books, The Coddling of the American Mind, The Righteous Mind, The Happiness Hypothesis, and most recently, The Anxious Generation, which is the focus of our discussion today.”
“The book we were discussing discussing is the anxious generation. When did it come out? It came out uh in March of 2024. And right and viewers and listeners can go to anxiousgeneration.com.”