Take Action
We all have a role to play in rolling back phone-based childhood and helping our children regain more independence in the real world. In The Anxious Generation, Jonathan Haidt lays out four reforms or new norms that would provide a foundation for a healthier kind of childhood in the digital age. It is often hard for one person, one family, or one school to swim against the tide of ever-increasing screen time, but if we act together, we can turn the tide.
Check out the below resources and actions you can take right now to get started.
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How can we make schools phone-free?
“How can we make schools phone-free?” is one of the most common questions we receive, so we’ve put together this resource page to help.
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Actions for Parents
Parents can coordinate to establish four new norms that will roll back the phone-based childhood, improve family life, and protect their children’s mental health.
Parent Action Guide
A great beginner guide with key actions and resources for any parent to help greatly improve our kids’ mental health at no cost. (Notes and links from Jonathan Haidt)
Good Inside x TAG Guide
We’ve joined forces with Dr. Becky Kennedy, founder of Good Inside, to produce this practical, empowering guide for parents.
Message Other Parents
Send or to other parents so that you can work together to roll back the phone-based childhood and restore the play-based childhood.
Find a Speaker for a Parent Group
Find a speaker from our list of Aligned Organizations who can talk to your parent group about rolling back the phone-based childhood and restoring the play-based childhood.
Actions for Educators and Schools
Schools and education departments can take the lead in setting new norms that will roll back the phone-based childhood, restore more free play and independence, and improve mental health.
Educator Action Guide
A great beginner guide with key actions and resources for any educator to help greatly improve our kids’ mental health at no cost. (Notes and links from Jonathan Haidt)
Send a Memo to Parents
Use to send a memo to parents from school leadership. You can also find examples other eduactors have shared with us. 
Find a Speaker for Your School
Find a speaker from our list of Aligned Organizations who can talk to your school about rolling back the phone-based childhood and restoring the play-based childhood.
Actions for Gen Z
Steps that Gen Z can take to help roll back the phone-based childhood, restore more free play and independence, and improve mental health—including those who went through puberty with smartphones and social media.
Phone Free Friday Summer Challenge
Join the Phone Free Friday Summer Challenge from Friday, June 14 to August 15 and commit to going phone-free every Friday or at least one day every week. Even better, get at least 3 other friends to join you!
Learn to Flourish
Follow Jon’s acclaimed NYU undergraduate course “Flourishing”, with its syllabus, to learn to understand the conditions that lead to flourishing and develop specific habits that will help you thrive at school, at work, and in your personal relationships.
Build your Antifragility
Consider the range of suggested resources for young people listed in The Anxious Generation—from apprenticeships and gap year programs to wilderness expedition trips.
Advocate for the Next Generation
Join the growing number of youth-led organizations pushing for digital media reform and more and better real-world experiences.
Actions for Legislators
State and federal governments can take the lead in supporting the four new norms that will roll back the phone-based childhood, restore more free play and independence, and improve mental health.
Keep Up with the Latest Legislation
Keep up with the ongoing legislative efforts to reform social media through our open-source collaborative review Google Doc and the Integrity Institute’s Policy tracker. For a preview on the role of government to help solve this collective action problem, read this post on our Substack.
Guidesheet for Policy Makers
Nine proposed solutions to help remedy social media platforms for teens. The guide sheet includes a mix of easily-implementable narrow proposals and more far-reaching broad solutions.
Support for Australia Social Media Legislation
Video address from Jon Haidt from Day 2 of the Social Media Summit, held in Adelaide on 11 October 2024.
Actions for Everyone
Spread the Word on Social Media
Want to help Free The Anxious Generation? Share more about the movement on social media with your network. Click to find shareable graphics and social media posts.
Donate
There are a few ways you can support our research and the Free The Anxious Generation Movement. Visit our Donate page to learn more.
Organizations
Let Grow
We are working with many aligned organizations to roll-back the phone based childhood and restore the play-based childhood. We have a special relationship with Let Grow, which is making it easy, normal and legal to give kids the independence they need to grow into capable, confident, and happy adults.
Aligned Organizations
Organizations working to end the phone-based childhood and restore the play-based childhood.
We want to hear from you!
If you want to share the impact the book has had on you—maybe you’re overprotecting a little less in the real world or have started protecting a little more online—please share your story.