This week we're covering chapter 11 from The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt, "What Schools Can Do Now." In this chapter, Haidt outlines actionable steps schools can take to address the mental health crisis among youth caused by the shift to a phone-based childhood. He strongly advocates for phone-free schools, recommending the use of phone lockers to eliminate distractions and foster face-to-face social engagement, which is critical for developing communication skills. Haidt also emphasizes increasing opportunities for free, unsupervised play, suggesting longer recesses and "play clubs" with mixed-age groups to promote resilience and social skills. These reforms aim to counteract the negative effects of excessive screen time, such as attention fragmentation and social deprivation, which impair students’ mental health and learning. By creating environments that prioritize real-world interaction, schools can help restore a healthier, play-based childhood.

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Head to patreon.com/theslpbookclub/membership to become an SLP Book Club supporter! You'll get episodes early and ad-free and a resource from Laura's TPT store every month.

You can check out Adrianne's new app, Say Hello, by going to sayhellospeech.com/say-hello-app.

View the app in the Apple App Store here and on Google Play here.

If you love what we're doing at the SLP Book Club, please consider leaving us a 5-star rating and review wherever you listen. This is the best way to support the podcast and help other SLPs and educators find us!

Join the discussion on instagram @slp_bookclub.

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A lot of the resources mentioned in the podcast are free to download in the Laura G SLP store on TPT, find them here!

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This week we're covering chapters nine and ten from The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt. In chapter nine, "Preparing for Collective Action," Haidt emphasizes the urgent need for societal cooperation to address the mental health crisis caused by the phone-based childhood. He proposes four types of collective responses: voluntary coordination, shifting social norms, technological solutions, and legislative measures, to delay smartphone and social media access, fostering healthier childhoods through community-driven efforts. In chapter ten, "What Governments and Tech Companies Can Do Now," Haidt outlines actionable steps for governments and tech companies to mitigate the mental health crisis fueled by unrestricted smartphone and social media use among youth. He advocates for legislative measures like raising the age of internet adulthood to 16, enforcing age verification, and mandating tech companies to enhance safety features to protect children from harmful content and addictive design. Haidt also urges tech companies to proactively redesign platforms to reduce addictive features, limit algorithmic amplification of harmful content, and support parental controls. He stresses the importance of coordinated policy efforts and corporate responsibility to create a safer digital environment, complementing community and parental initiatives.

If you want to join the discussion, please click here to join our online book club community!

Head to patreon.com/theslpbookclub/membership to become an SLP Book Club supporter! You'll get episodes early and ad-free and a resource from Laura's TPT store every month.

You can check out Adrianne's new app, Say Hello, by going to sayhellospeech.com/say-hello-app.

View the app in the Apple App Store here and on Google Play here.

If you love what we're doing at the SLP Book Club, please consider leaving us a 5-star rating and review wherever you listen. This is the best way to support the podcast and help other SLPs and educators find us!

Join the discussion on instagram @slp_bookclub.

Find us on TikTok @theslpbookclub.

A lot of the resources mentioned in the podcast are free to download in the Laura G SLP store on TPT, find them here!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week we're covering chapter eight, "Spiritual Elevation and Degradation" from The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt. In this chapter, Haidt explores how the decline of spiritual and communal practices has impacted the mental health of young people in the digital age. He argues that humans have a natural inclination toward spiritual experiences, which historically provided meaning, connection, and transcendence through shared rituals and beliefs. However, the rise of technology, particularly smartphones and social media, has replaced these uplifting experiences with shallow, individualistic, and often degrading digital interactions. Haidt suggests that this shift has left Generation Z more disconnected, anxious, and spiritually unmoored, as virtual environments fail to fulfill the human need for awe, purpose, and community. He emphasizes the importance of fostering real-world spiritual practices, such as mindfulness, religious engagement, or nature-based experiences, to counteract the negative effects of digital overload. The chapter calls for a cultural reclamation of sacred, embodied experiences to restore mental and emotional well-being in young people.

If you want to join the discussion, please click here to join our online book club community!

Head to patreon.com/theslpbookclub/membership to become an SLP Book Club supporter! You'll get episodes early and ad-free and a resource from Laura's TPT store every month.

You can check out Adrianne's new app, Say Hello, by going to sayhellospeech.com/say-hello-app.

View the app in the Apple App Store here and on Google Play here.

If you love what we're doing at the SLP Book Club, please consider leaving us a 5-star rating and review wherever you listen. This is the best way to support the podcast and help other SLPs and educators find us!

Join the discussion on instagram @slp_bookclub.

Find us on TikTok @theslpbookclub.

A lot of the resources mentioned in the podcast are free to download in the Laura G SLP store on TPT, find them here!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.