Court filings unsealed in a California case reveal Meta employees in 2023 discussed a 'Whisper strategy' aimed at discrediting Jonathan Haidt, the author whose research links social media to teen mental health problems. One idea floated was recruiting an academic, possibly Columbia's Andrew Gelman, to write a critical takedown of Haidt's work. It's unclear whether Meta ever carried out the plan, and the company declined to comment.
theverge.com
· 2026-11-13
Court documents reportedly reveal Meta employees discussed a 'whisper campaign' approach aimed at undermining social psychologist Jonathan Haidt, a prominent critic of social media's effects on youth mental health. The filings suggest internal communications explored ways to counter Haidt's influence rather than directly engage his research publicly.
tech.slashdot.org
· 2026-11-01
Court filings in litigation over Meta's teen safety claims reveal internal 'Well-being Meeting' notes from March 2023 describing a 'Whisper strategy' aimed at turning other academics against social psychologist Jonathan Haidt, a vocal critic linking social media to teen mental health problems. The notes, dated around a Substack post by Haidt, appear informal and typo-ridden, and it remains unclear whether Meta ever acted on the ideas discussed.
theverge.com
· 2026-10-28
Psychologist Peter Gray's Restoring Childhood disputes The Anxious Generation's central claim that smartphones and social media caused the post-2010 teen mental health crisis. Gray instead traces the decline to decades of shrinking childhood autonomy and rigid, test-focused schooling tied to Common Core, arguing home internet access in the 1990s and 2000s actually improved teen wellbeing by restoring lost freedom and social connection.
theverge.com
· 2026-09-15
A commentary piece, drawing on Jonathan Haidt's book The Anxious Generation, weighs evidence on both sides of the question of whether today's kids are better or worse off than previous generations. It notes gains such as more parental time, less substance abuse, fewer car deaths, and greater tolerance for minorities, alongside concerns like heavy phone use, isolation, less sleep and reading, and rising anxiety, depression and suicide rates among teens, especially girls. The author frames this as an open question worth academic examination rather than settling on one conclusion.
smallpotatoes.paulbloom.net
· 2026-08-31
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