This is a can’t miss episode.

There’s a quiet rebellion happening — in kitchens, classrooms, and bedrooms — and it’s not coming from Silicon Valley. In this powerful episode of Techishly Jenn, Jenn sits down with Jonathan Haidt and Catherine Price, co-authors of the new book The Amazing Generation, to talk about what’s really happening to kids growing up with smartphones, social media, and now AI.

If The Anxious Generation helped parents understand what went wrong, The Amazing Generation is about what comes next — and why kids themselves are starting to say “enough.”

This isn’t a tech-panic episode. Jenn, Jonathan, and Catherine make it clear: technology isn’t the enemy. But addictive design, unregulated platforms, and giving kids adult-grade tech before their brains are ready? That’s where things go sideways.

Together, they unpack how smartphones became “supercomputer slot machines,” why social media harms girls and the broader techno-sphere traps boys, and why AI may pose an even bigger developmental threat if we don’t slow down and get this right. Along the way, Jenn shares candid parenting moments, including the uncomfortable but essential question every parent should ask their child — and themselves.

This is one of the most honest, emotional, and practical conversations we’ve had on the show — about kids, screens, guilt, hope, and how we reclaim childhood without shame or lectures.

• Why kids don’t need smartphones — and what they actually need instead
• How social media and games are deliberately designed to hijack young brains
• Why the damage isn’t anecdotal anymore — and what the research really shows
• Why girls are hit hardest by social media and boys by the broader techno-sphere
• The heartbreaking question parents should ask their kids about phone use
• Why “no screens in bedrooms” is the single most important rule you can make
• How AI could be more dangerous than social media for child development
• Why kids themselves are leading the rebellion — and what gives real hope

• The Amazing Generation (website)
• The Amazing Generation (book)
• Jonathan Haidt (website)
• Jonathan Haidt (Instagram)
• Catherine Price (website)
• Catherine Price (Instagram)

Tell Us What You Think

Have you already given your child a smartphone — and now wish you’d waited? What rules are working (or not) in your house? This episode isn’t about guilt — it’s about doing better together. Share your thoughts, questions, and hard moments with us.

Support the Show

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