Jonathan Haidt is a social psychologist and professor at New York University’s Stern School of Business. Much of Haidt’s research centers on understanding moral and political differences within cultures, and helping people have constructive dialogues about those differences. His books The Righteous Mind and The Coddling of the American Mind explore the reasons why people are so easily divided by religious, moral, and political differences, and how people can have respectful dialogue and coexist with each other. 

Haidt has also written extensively about the impact of technology on children, youth, and society. His 2024 book The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness explores the rise of screen time, gaming, and social media amongst children and youth, arguing that this trend has caused enormous harm to individuals, families, and broader society. Haidt continues to research these topics through The Tech and Society Lab at NYU Stern.

Catherine Price is the author of numerous works including mindfulness: a journal, Vitamania, and The Power of Fun: How to Feel Alive Again, which inspired her popular TEDTalk on the subject. Her book How to Break Up With Your Phone explores why phones are inherently addictive and explains how to minimize phone use to regain control over your time and mental health.

Haidt and Price bring their expertise on screen time and mental health to their collaborative work, The Amazing Generation. In it they synthesize their research on children’s screen time, with a focus on gaming and social media. From their extensive research on the topic, Price and Haidt argue that gaming and social media apps have a detrimental effect on children’s social lives, self-image, attention spans, privacy, safety, and mental resilience. The authors use scholarly studies, primary sources (such as leaked documents from companies and interviews with tech leaders), and personal testimonials to support their argument that young people must take back control of their time and well-being by rebelling against the lure of online activities.