Reclaiming Attention

The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt articulates something I believe many of us (both inside and outside the world of education) have been feeling for quite some time. The book is both a diagnosis and a call to action. Haidt lays out the deep connections between rising rates of anxiety and depression in young people and the shift from a play-based, in-person childhood to one that now unfolds mostly on screens.

His central claim is clear and urgent: childhood has been rewired, and kids are not okay.

He says it like this:

“If we want to make kids less anxious, we have to change their environment. We cannot expect them to self-regulate their way out of a system that is designed to hijack their attention.”

Back in February, I joined the Del Oro softball team in a month-long digital detox. No smartphones. No social media. It started as their team challenge, but I wanted to feel what it was like too. At first, it was uncomfortable. I had the habit of reaching for my phone without thinking. But by the second week, something started to shift. My brain felt quieter. I had more focus. I was more present with my own family. The detox made it clear that this wasn’t just a teenager issue. Adults are deep in this too.

The most powerful part? The girls didn’t completely hate it. Some noticed how much better they slept. Others noticed how often they were laughing with their families instead of scrolling. One shared with me how freeing it felt to not care what someone posted or said online that day. That month gave us a glimpse of something better—not perfect, but better.

This fall, Del Oro will be launching a new cell phone policy. It will create clear boundaries around phone use during school hours, and for some students, that might initially feel like a punishment. But it isn’t. It is protection. It is a choice to create an environment where students can focus, interact with each other face-to-face, and genuinely experience their school day without constant digital interruptions.

Haidt’s book reinforced something we’ve all been sensing. Phones and social media are not neutral tools. They are powerful forces that shape behavior, attention, and identity. When they are present all the time, real connection gets crowded out.

We aren’t trying to go backwards. We are trying to reclaim something essential. Focus. Safety. Community. The ability to be in a space without being pulled out of it a hundred times a day.

The Anxious Generation doesn’t offer easy solutions, but it does offer clarity. If we want to help children grow into healthier, stronger, and more grounded individuals, we must create conditions that make this possible. That is our responsibility as educators. Let’s do it!