Jonathan Haidt

Social psychologist at New York University’s Stern School of Business and author of The Anxious Generation, known for his public work on moral psychology, social media, smartphones, childhood mental health, and the case for phone- and screen-free childhood norms.

Childhood Technology Should Face a Safety Burden Before Mass Adoption

In a 2026 TED talk, social psychologist Jonathan Haidt argues that childhood technology should be governed by “technoskepticism”: companies should have to prove their products are safe for developing minds before they enter children’s social lives, classrooms, or relationships. Drawing on his view of humans as an “ultrasocial” species, Haidt says smartphones, school devices, and AI companions threaten the embodied attention and dependence through which children learn, bond, and mature.

TEDJun 4, 202611 min read