New York University lecturer reveals important skills to have before age 25

Jonathan Haidt is the author of the best-selling book The Anxious Generation. Mr. Haidt believes that today's teenagers use social media and smartphones so much that they are depriving themselves of an important life skill for success: the ability to concentrate.

In a recent interview, Mr. Haidt shared the connection between people's excessive use of phones and their reduced ability to concentrate.

Mr. Jonathan Haidt is teaching social psychology at New York University (USA) (Photo: CNBC).

Mr. Haidt's comments are consistent with actual surveys in the US. According to a recent report by the non-profit organization Common Sense Media (USA), American teenagers between the ages of 13 and 18 spend an average of 8 hours and 39 minutes a day in front of computer and phone screens.

On average, each child receives about 240 notifications from phone applications every day and checks their phone more than 100 times.

This has led to a dangerous consequence, Mr. Haidt said, in that the younger generation is losing the ability to concentrate, a key skill for success in school, work, and life.

"We need to urgently restore the brain. If teenagers continue to use their phones for up to 10 hours a day for many years, the negative consequences will become permanent. The brain, especially the frontal lobe, completes its development by age 25. If by age 25, young people still have not developed the ability to concentrate, it will be very difficult to acquire this skill later on," said Mr. Haidt.

Social media apps are designed to constantly interrupt users, making it difficult to maintain sustained attention. According to Haidt, difficulty concentrating can negatively impact both personal life and academic and work performance.

They may have difficulty achieving good academic results, or maintaining ideal work performance, simply because they are constantly distracted by their phones. In their personal lives, young people also find it difficult to maintain close relationships if they are constantly distracted by their phones when they are with relatives and close friends...

Difficulty concentrating is a problem that many young people are facing (Illustration: Leoai).

Since its publication in 2024, Professor Jonathan Haidt's book The Anxious Generation has been a bestseller in the US. Billionaire Bill Gates even encouragededucators , teachers and parents to read the book to understand today's young generation.

In the book, author Haidt clearly states the connection between social media addiction and mental health problems among today's youth.

Many social studies have shown that the development of social skills in adolescents can be severely affected when young people rely too much on technological devices and applications, instead of choosing to communicate directly.

In 2023, US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy warned about mental health risks caused by social media and smartphones, such as anxiety disorders and depression.

To retrain your ability to concentrate, Professor Jonathan Haidt advises everyone, especially teenagers, to control or even limit their phone use. Each person should invite relatives and close friends to join this challenge.

"If you find three family members or three friends to do the phone detox together, the chances of success will be higher. Ideally, you should try to completely quit social media for a month, you will see your ability to concentrate significantly improved," said Professor Haidt.

When you want to hold your phone, replace it with another activity like reading, writing, watching movies or going out for exercise...

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/giao-duc/giang-vien-dh-new-york-tiet-lo-ky-nang-quan-trong-can-co-truoc-tuoi-25-20250511204730276.htm