Meeting Pattern

Online/Blackboard

Description

The mental health of adolescents plunged in the early 2010s with rates of anxiety, depression, self-harm, and suicide rising sharply, sometimes doubling. Why? In the Anxious Generation book study, we will look at The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt, who argues that the spread of smartphones, social media, and overprotective parenting have led to a “rewiring” of childhood and the rise of mental illness. You will be guided in four weekly discussions that look at the decline of a ‘play-based childhood’ and how it was replaced by a ‘phone-based childhood’, how the use of technology and social media has interfered with children’s social and neurological development, and how we can take collective action to guide youth through this technological world. Throughout these discussions will be insight into the adolescent brain development and techniques for a deeper connection with your child or the children you teach.

Syllabus, Objectives, and Outcomes

Objectives:

You will:

• Understand the effect of technology and social media on the adolescent brain.
• Understand how the lack of free play has contributed to the rise of anxiety and depression in adolescents. 
• Reflect on the changes to be made to improve the mental health of adolescents.

Materials:

Required Text

The Anxious Generation: How The Great Rewiring of Childhood is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness; Jonathan Haidt (Penguin Press 2024)

Course Materials:

1. Required text.
2. Form of technology to access the internet and blackboard access.