Current Course Offering

The Fall 2024 Messinger-Williams Family Community Education Initiative at Hood Theological Seminary

A free educational opportunity, open to all.

The Anxious Generation

How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness

The Anxious GenerationAfter more than a decade of stability or improvement, the mental health of adolescents plunged in the early 2010s. Rates of depression, anxiety, self-harm, and suicide rose sharply, more than doubling on many measures. Why?

Social psychologist Jonathan Haidt believes the answer has to do with what he calls “the great rewiring of childhood,” which took place right under our noses when we placed smartphones in the hands of our children and left them to navigate the online world on their own, without guidance or guardrails.

In his latest book The Anxious Generation (Penguin Press, 2024), Haidt examines how this “great rewiring” has interfered with children’s social and neurological development, covering everything from sleep deprivation to attention fragmentation, addiction, loneliness, social contagion, social comparison, and perfectionism. He explains why social media damages girls more than boys and why boys have been withdrawing from the real world into the virtual world, with disastrous consequences for themselves, their families, and their societies.

Facilitated by Trevor Eppehimer, Academic Dean at Hood Theological Seminary, the Fall 2024 Messinger-Williams Community Education Initiative will be devoted to a six-week study of The Anxious Generation, beginning October 6.

Participation Options

Join a discussion group
Join an in-person or Zoom discussion group, led by Dr. Trevor Eppehimer of Hood Theological Seminary, that meets one hour per week during the course of the study.

  • Mondays 10:45-11:45am on Zoom (currently full) (10/7, 10/14, 10/21, 10/28, 11/4, and 11/11)
  • Mondays 12:00-1:00pm on Zoom (currently full) (10/7, 10/14, 10/21, 10/28, 11/4, and 11/11)
  • Wednesdays 11:00-12:00pm at First Presbyterian Church (currently full) (Salisbury NC) (10/9, 10/16, 10/23, 10/30, 11/6, and 11/13)

Organize your own discussion group
Use distributed reading guides to explore The Anxious Generation with co-workers, neighbors, family, and friends.

Read independently
Use distributed reading guides to work through The Anxious Generation on your own.

Six-Week Schedule

Week One (October 6-10):

  • Introduction: Growing Up On Mars, pp. 1-17.
  • Chapter 1: The Surge of Suffering, pp. 21-45.

Week Two (October 13-17)

  • Chapter 2: What Children Need to Do in Childhood, pp. 49-66.
  • Chapter 3: Discover Mode and the Need for Risky Play, pp. 67-94.

Week Three (October 20-24):

  • Chapter 4: Puberty and the Blocked Transition to Adulthood, pp. 95-120.
  • Chapter 5: The Four Foundational Harms: Social Deprivation, Sleep Deprivation, Attention Fragmentation, and Addiction, pp. 113-141.

Week Four (October 27-31):

  • Chapter 6: Why Social Media Harms Girls More Than Boys, pp. 143-172.
  • Chapter 7: What is Happening to Boys? pp. 173-197.

Week Five (November 3-7):

  • Chapter 8: Spiritual Elevation and Degradation, pp. 199-218.
  • Chapter 9: Preparing for Collective Action, pp. 221-226.
  • Chapter 10: What Governments And Tech Companies Can Do Now, pp. 227-245.

Week Six (November 10-14):

  • Chapter 11: What Schools Can Do Now, pp. 247-266.
  • Chapter 12: What Parents Can Do Now, pp. 267-288
  • Conclusion: Bring Childhood Back to Earth, pp. 289-295.


Questions? Want more details? Send email to teppehimer@hoodseminary.edu

Ready to register?
You can click here to register now.

The Messinger-Williams Community Education Initiative at Hood Theological Seminary is an extension of the Hood Theological Seminary’s Messinger and Williams Family Chair in Theology and Ethics. Its mission is to facilitate explorations of topics related to ethics, community, faith, and meaning-in-life for the general public. Courses are free and open to all.

Suggested donation for course: $25. Click here to make donation.

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