Pre-announcement of a webinar on children's and adolescents' upbringing, algorithm-driven technology exposure, and mental health in a digitalized society
Professor Jonathan Haidt , social psychologist and author of "The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness", brings to light the “great rewiring of childhood” in which play-based childhood has been replaced by phone-based childhood. Jonathan continues to push towards the reforms to put an end to the youth mental health crisis. In Norway, physician Charlotte Lunde has also addressed this topic, and during this webinar, Haidt and Lunde will give presentations and take part in a panel discussion on this important issue.
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On Tuesday, May 27, 2025, from 14:00 to 15:00 (CET), the Digital Learning Communities Artificial Intelligence Centre (DLCAIC) will host a webinar titled “Why is Gen-Z So Different? How The Great Rewiring of Childhood (2010–2015) Will Impact Everything.” The webinar will be based on Jonathan Haidt’s book “The Anxious Generation – How the Great Rewiring of Childhood is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness and Lunde's book «Play and Learning from a Neuroscientific Perspective».
The webinar will highlight some of the many perspectives and discourses surrounding childhood and upbringing in an increasingly digitalized society (video). There is growing concern that algorithm-driven technology exposure has affected Generation Z in various ways, and that a contemporary analysis and more research are needed to understand this complex field in the AI era. Jonathan Haidt and Charlotte Lunde will therefore address some of the current discourses in this area.
We hope that researchers, policymakers, educational leaders, teachers, healthcare professionals, journalists, students, parents, and others will join this webinar on one of the most important topics of our time: the well-being of children and adolescents in a digitized society.
Save the date – Tuesday, May 27 – and stay tuned to the University of Bergen's website for the final program and further information.
More information about the DLCAICs Work package 3: AI, algorithm generated technology exposure, counterproductive feedback, learning loss, active learning, and mental health: link
