Afterbabel

Introduction by Jon Haidt and Zach Rausch:While our primary focus in the past has been on social media and mental health, in the last two years, major declines in test scores in countries around the world have drawn increasing attention to the effects of

"A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. But if that first step is hard, then you should quit."- Attributed to Lao Tzu, except for the second sentence, which was added by some critics of the Australian social media law.Australia did the w

Introduction by Jon Haidt: Tipping points. One happened for phone-free schools in 2025 across the US and around the world. One is happening now, in 2026, for raising the age for social media accounts to 16 around the world.And my prediction is that one wi

Introduction from Zach Rausch and Jon Haidt:Today, we are sharing an important essay from Brooke Istook, President of the Heat Initiative, whose two recent reports, "The Hidden Dangers of Snapchat for Kids: Experiences of Snapchat Users Ages 10-17,"create

Introduction from Zach Rausch: One of the puzzles we've been piecing together here on After Babel is to what extent the youth mental health crisis extends beyond the United States. (We previously published a four-part series on the topic looking at the fi

Introduction from Jon Haidt and Zach Rausch:In The Anxious Generation, we told the story of the "great rewiring of childhood" and situated it in the historical context of the last 50 years. But just as we were turning in the manuscript, in late 2023, I (J

Introduction from Jonathan Haidt:In April I gave my third - and most urgent - TED Talk. It's about stopping the takeover of childhood by technologies that were not designed with children's welfare in mind. To change course in democratic nations will requi

Last Thursday, I had the honor of speaking to NYU's graduating class at their commencement in Yankee Stadium. As a member of the NYU community for the last 16 years, I was deeply humbled by this invitation and felt a real responsibility to deliver somethi

Introduction from Zach Rausch: Are norms around childhood and technology actually changing? Looking at policy both abroad and in the U.S., the answer is a clear yes. On the individual and community level, we hear encouraging stories regularly. But is pare

Introduction from Jon Haidt and Zach Rausch:Longtime After Babel readers will recognize today's guest author, Seth Kaplan, lecturer at Johns Hopkins and author of Fragile Neighborhoods. In previous essays, he has argued that loss of community is an upstre