The Anxious Generation (#977)
Kyle and Wayne start with a brief conversation about the movie "A Hidden Life" and its themes of resistance, conscience, and the consequences of standing up against injustice. They touch on the intimidation and discouragement of following one's conscience when friends and family disapprove. Then they discuss Jonathan Haight's book, "The Anxious Generation," about the impact of the digital age on the mental health of the younger generation. Having a phone-based childhood instead of a play-based one has rewired their brains, making interpersonal relationships incredibly difficult. This leads to significant increases in depression, social anxiety, and even suicides. On the positive side, this rewiring can be reversed by limiting access to technology and re-engaging interpersonal relationships.
Podcast Notes:
- The video recording of this podcast (New FB policy only preserves this link for the first 30 days after the recording date.)
- A Hidden Life
- The Anxious Generation
- AnxiousGeneration.com
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This episode really resonated with me, as a medical practitioner, seeing the significant increase in anxiety in this generation.
Wayne’s questions about how this links with trauma were insightful: see Dr Jacob Ham’s item titled ‘The Opposite of Trauma is Presence’ (YouTube).
The inability to be PRESENT is the whole issue with this generation and what social media and devices have done to all of us that over use them. Learning how to be present in our pain, in relationships, in that vulnerability of person-to-person interaction is the skill we needed to learn in childhood, and so many missed out on that.
Thanks for the podcast, I love listening to you both!
Thanks for the reminder, Marilyn. And being present with others in their pain and struggle will be a lifeline as well for this generation.