[1][2] Haidt argues that the combination of the decline of play-based childhoods, exacerbated by what he describes as overprotective parents, and increasing smartphone use has been harmful to children since the late 2000s.

Building on research from his coauthored book The Coddling of the American Mind, Haidt argues that risk-taking has been discouraged by "safetyism" where parents, educators, and other caregivers are overprotective and have minimized the physical and mental risks that children take.

While an atheist himself, Haidt notes how spiritual practices include common human experiences, such as collective rituals, being in the same location as others ("embodiment"), silence, transcending oneself, being slow to anger and quick to forgive, and finding awe in nature.

Tech company solutions include having smartphone platforms such as iOS and Android provide additional parental controls limiting usage and access.

"[7] Candice Odgers, a professor at the University of California, Irvine, and Duke University, published a review of the book in Nature arguing that most empirical evidence on social medial and mental health did not find a large or consistently negative effect and suggesting that the correlation of rising social media use and mental health problems might reflect reverse causation.

Odgers also accused Haidt of fear-mongering and warned that "rising hysteria could distract us from tackling the real causes" of youth mental health struggles.

Wallace-Wells cited researchers like Amy Orben and Andrew Przybylski, who argue that the evidence connecting smartphones to declining well-being is weak and contested.

Wallace-Wells concludes that while smartphones may contribute to emotional distress for some teenagers, attributing the rise in depression and anxiety solely to technology oversimplifies a much more nuanced issue.

However, she questioned Haidt's downplaying of global issues, like climate change and political instability, and their media coverage as contributing factors to youth anxiety.

[12] Helen Rumbelow of The Times gave the book a positive review, while acknowledging criticism it faced from some academics for relying "heavily" on correlation studies.

[13] News agency Reuters said the book served as the catalyst for Australia's Online Safety Amendment, a proposed law which aims to restrict the use of social media by minors under the age of 16.