<
https://www.techdirt.com/2025/09/10/experts-universally-pan-jonathan-haidts-the-anxious-generation-as-unscientific-garbage-but-politicians-keep-buying-it-anyway/>
"The verdict is in on Jonathan Haidt’s “The Anxious Generation,” and it’s
devastating. A new piece in
TES Magazine systematically demolishes Haidt’s
claims by doing something revolutionary: actually asking experts who study this
stuff what they think.
The result reads like an academic execution:
“When I read the book, I found it really hard to believe it was written by a
fellow academic,” admits Tamsin Ford, professor of child and adolescent
psychiatry at the University of Cambridge.
“What Jon is selling is fear,” argues Andrew Przybylski, professor of human
behaviour and technology at the University of Oxford. “It’s not scientific.”
And this isn’t some fringe criticism. TES is the
Times Educational
Supplement, which has been around since 1910 and is basically the trade
magazine for educators in the UK. At a time when many educators have been
swallowing Haidt’s misleading claims, seeing a respected educational trade
magazine systematically shred his arguments is remarkable.
But here’s the truly damning part: this expert demolition came out the exact
same day that
Politico published a breathless piece claiming Haidt’s crusade
represents “the only true bipartisan issue left,” gushing about how governors
from both parties are embracing policy reform based on his work.
The contrast couldn’t be starker: while actual experts are calling Haidt’s work
unscientific garbage, politicians are treating it like gospel.
The
TES piece doesn’t just criticize—it comprehensibly destroys Haidt’s core
arguments with the precision of actual scientists who know what they’re talking
about."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
