HoldsUp

Jonathan Haidt

NYU Stern

Jonathan Haidt is a social psychologist at NYU Stern and the author of The Anxious Generation. His research primarily examines moral psychology, cross-cultural moral foundations, and political diversity within psychological science. He also investigates the effects of digital technology and social media use on mental health and adolescent well-being.

17 claims checked on air: 2 overstated 6 supported 9 unverified 2 flagged

What they said on air - supported

0:38:18supportedmoderateBrain Rot Emergency: These Internal Documents Prove They’re

The Chinese version of TikTok (Douyin) imposes specific limits on minors, including night shut-offs and algorithms that prioritize educational and patriotic content.

"it was a Chinese company that gave Chinese kids healthy TikTok, or Douyin. They, you know, learned to follow astronauts. Their algorithm feeds their kid patriotic stuff. It shuts off at a certain time at night. There's all kinds of limits." (said at 0:38:18)

Published analyses of Chinese digital platforms confirm that ByteDance operates Douyin under Chinese regulatory frameworks that differ substantially from its international counterpart TikTok. Research on Douyin's platform architecture and content governance documents how the platform actively integrates state-aligned ideological content, including dedicated curation mechanisms for 'positive energy' and patriotic messaging, and adapts platform affordances to comply with domestic regulations governing minor access and screen time.

0:43:47supportedmoderateBrain Rot Emergency: These Internal Documents Prove They’re

Developing secure attachment in childhood makes an individual more likely to exhibit secure attachment in adult romantic relationships.

"And the internal working models you develop as a child are the models that you will reuse in puberty for romantic relationships. And so, if you are securely attached as a child, you're more likely to be securely attached as an adult on the dating market" (said at 0:43:47)

Prospective longitudinal studies tracking individuals from infancy into adulthood support the claim that childhood attachment security predicts adult romantic attachment security. In multi-decade cohorts (such as the Minnesota Longitudinal Study of Risk and Adaptation and the NICHD SECCYD cohort), infants assessed as securely attached via the Strange Situation or experiencing higher-quality early mother-child relationships were significantly more likely in adulthood to show secure romantic attachment representations on the Current Relationship Interview, exhibit lower romantic attachment anxiety and avoidance, and have higher-quality romantic interactions.

1:14:42supportedhighBrain Rot Emergency: These Internal Documents Prove They’re

US National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) test scores rose from the 1970s through 2012, and began declining around 2015 before the COVID-19 pandemic.

"From the '70s through 2012, they were rising. We actually were improving what kids knew, what kids learned in the United States. We have very good data, the national the NAEP, National Assessment of Educational Progress. Goes up till 2012. And then by 2015, it starts going down and it's going down before COVID. And it goes down more during COVID." (said at 1:14:42)

Analyses of long-term trend and main assessment data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) show that nationwide student academic performance across mathematics and reading rose substantially from the early 1970s through approximately 2012, before leveling off and turning downward around 2015 (prior to the COVID-19 pandemic), with accelerated score declines following the onset of COVID-19 disruptions.

1:23:18supportedmoderateBrain Rot Emergency: These Internal Documents Prove They’re

Research (including Dutch studies) indicates heavy electronic and social media use does not cause ADHD de novo in children without a predisposition, but worsens symptoms in children who already have ADHD.

"I looked to see if there were studies indicating that uh heavy use of social media and video games and all the electronic stuff caused ADHD. And when I was doing the research in 2023, I did not find evidence that it will give a kid ADHD who otherwise wouldn't have it. What I did find was evidence that for kids who have ADHD, when you let them have the devices, the video games, all that, their symptoms get much worse." (said at 1:23:18)

Systematic reviews and longitudinal studies (including prominent Dutch research by Valkenburg, Nikkelen, Boer, and colleagues) support the distinction made by the speaker. ADHD is a highly heritable neurodevelopmental disorder, and meta-analytic evidence indicates only a small overall correlation (r ≈ 0.12) between general media use and ADHD-related behaviors, with no evidence that screen or social media use creates ADHD de novo in children without underlying neurodevelopmental predisposition. Instead, research supports the Differential Susceptibility to Media effects Model, showing that children with pre-existing ADHD traits or problematic media use patterns are disproportionately susceptible to symptom exacerbation and compulsive engagement.

2:01:41supportedmoderateBrain Rot Emergency: These Internal Documents Prove They’re

Survey data shows agreement with the statement that life feels meaningless among high school seniors remained around 8% to 9% until spiking significantly starting around 2013.

"And the saddest one is the one my life feels meaningless. Um do you agree with that? Disagree with it? And the percent that agree, uh I think it's you know, something like 8% or 9% uh you know, agreed for the millennial generation. I think it's in chapter seven, the end of chapter seven. And then it's what's fairly flat and then all of a sudden we hit this period, the great re-wiring, 2010 to 2015. Uh so right around 2013 it goes way, way up." (said at 2:01:41)

Nationally representative survey data from the Monitoring the Future study of U.S. 12th-grade high school seniors support the claim. Studies analyzing these data show that depressive symptoms—measured using affective items including the belief that "Life often seems meaningless"—remained relatively low and stable across earlier birth cohorts before rising sharply starting around 2010 to 2012.

2:02:34supportedmoderateBrain Rot Emergency: These Internal Documents Prove They’re

Adolescents spend an average of 5 hours per day on social media and 8 to 10 hours per day on digital devices excluding schoolwork.

"5 hours a day is the average for social media, 8 to 10 on on devices not counting school, if all you're doing is just you're just consuming content, you are useless." (said at 2:02:34)

The speaker's figures closely reflect nationally representative survey findings on adolescent media habits in the United States. Major surveys show that U.S. teens spend an average of approximately 4.8 hours per day specifically on social media platforms (Gallup Youth Survey) and an average of 8 hours and 39 minutes per day on screen media for entertainment, excluding time spent on schoolwork or homework (Common Sense Media Census). Large population-based studies tracking child and adolescent media use similarly evaluate heavy recreational screen exposure in cohorts reaching 7 or more hours per day.

Fact-checked episodes

Publications