The Great Rewiring of Childhood — And How We Reverse It

Aspen Ideas to Go

Raising our kids with access to touchscreens and technology at almost all hours of the day is an untested experiment with unknown results. But by many measures, it isn’t going well. For several years, social psychologist Jonathan Haidt has been collecting and analyzing the data on young people, social media and smartphones. He’s found some deeply troubling trends, which he explains in his latest book, “The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness.” In a talk at the 2025 Aspen Ideas Festival, Haidt highlights his key findings and underscores the seriousness of this problem, but also presents practical and feasible ideas for solutions. Olivia Walton, the founder and CEO of Ingeborg Investments, joins Haidt after his solo talk for a question and answer session.