The Anxious Generation (1) - Overprotection in Real World

Why did children born after 1995 become “The Anxious Generation”? As an American social psychologist, Jonathan Haidt attributed this trend to 2 major reasons: overprotection in the real world and underprotection in the virtual world.

Risky play (Sandseter and Kennair, 2023) is regarded as “thrilling and exciting forms of play that involve a risk of physical injury”. Children will seek out 6 kinds when adults give them freedom:

1）heights (such as climbing trees or playground structures)

2）high speed (such as swinging, or going down fast slides)

3）dangerous tools (such as hammers and drills),

4）dangerous elements (such as experimenting with fire)

5）rough-and-tumble play (such as wrestling)

6）disappearing (hiding, wandering away, potentially getting lost or separated)

Nassim Taleb coined the word “antifragile” to describe things that actually need to get knocked over now and then in order to become strong. Trees that are exposed to strong winds early in life become trees that can withstand even stronger winds when fully grown. Conversely, trees that are raised in a protected greenhouse fall over from their own weight before they reach maturity. 

The attachment system explained the relationship between adults and children. When one steps outside their comfort zone and explores the world, the exploration generates fear and anxiety. This is where learning happens, and competence develops. Older and wiser people give us safety to reach out. Yet, overprotective parenting keeps kids safe on base, prevents them from growing.

The existence of “critical periods” are windows of time in which a young generation must learn something, or it will be hard if not impossible to learn later. Three elements must be included:

1）Free Play

Activity that is freely chosen and directed by the participants, and undertaken for its own sake, not consciously pursued to achieve ends that are distinct from the activity itself.

2）Attunement

Synchronous, face-to-face, physical interactions and rituals are an underappreciated part of human evolution. Adults enjoy them, and children need them for healthy development. Yet, the major social media platforms draw children into endless hours of asynchronous interaction.

3）Social Learning

Once our ancestors became cultural creatures, a new evolutionary pressure arose that rewarded the best learners. Not those who learn best in school from books and lectures, but those who best activated their innate desire to learn by copying and who then picked the right people to copy.

Two Basic Mindsets

Discover mode (BAS)	Defend mode (BIS)
• Scan for opportunities	• Scan for dangers
• Kid in a candy shop	• Scarcity mindset
• Think for yourself	• Cling to your team
• Let me grow!	• Keep me safe!

Why is play-based childhood more crucial than a phone-based childhood? Behavioral activation system (i.e. BAS) turns on when one detects chances. Imagine your group is hungry. When you come across a tree full of ripe cherries all of a sudden, your mouth will begin to water and you will be flooded with positive emotions and shared excitement. Everyone is ready to go.

In contrast, behavioral inhibition system (i.e. BIS) turns on when threats are detected. You all stop what you are doing, when you hear a leopard roar nearby as you are picking those cherries. Appetite is suppressed as your bodies flood with stress hormones and your thinking turns entirely to identifying the threat and finding ways to escape it.

For people with chronic anxiety due to phone-based life, defend mode is chronically activated...

Title: The Anxious Generation

Author: Jonathan Haidt

Year: 2024

Region: USA

Publisher: Penguin Press

Genre: Social Sciences

Score: 7/10

IMG: https://idahochildrenstrustfund.org/resources-research/ictf-blog/kids-need-unstructured-playtime/