Technolandy

Day 13 (of 2026/27) amplifying Dr Peter Gray’s look at ‘the anxious generation’ with a focus on Restoring Childhood

Restoring Childhood: How to Set Kids Free in the Age of Anxiety – Peter Gray

Sadly, Haights’ book got all the earworms with the claim that the anxiety we see in youth is due to screens…  he does make some good points about the lack of (free) play and choice (ooh – actually;ly uses Dr Grays work…) , but the headlines (and his ‘research’) tend to focus on personal devices and social medias rather than gun violence in schools… widening socio economic gaps… political and environmental uncertainty – all of which make me wonder what reports he put to the side…

Peter Gray’s book got put on my radar via LInkedIN https://www.forbes.com/sites/andyrobertson/2026/09/18/dont-panic-what-parents-need-to-know-about-the-anxious-generation/?

I worry it won’t be amplified by the news cycle…

Cuz it points out that mental health issues stern from things less blameable than a screen…

Strict curricula

Constant news cycle (every event feels like it is in the neighbourhood)

Wealth inequality…

How digital play can offer value:

Autonomy (kids on their own outside might get a visit from police or ministry)

Development (every generation connects differently.

Strict curriculum takes away choice – and is also making schools feel even more artificial from ‘real life – and the skills needed for real life’ than any prior time period.

Constant news cycles were brought up decades ago as being hard on the neurologies because:

a) it’s too much information – everything everywhere all at once

b) the only ‘unknowables’ are the bigger questions that are dangerous for the brain (seriously, try to think about what happens after death or the vastness of infinity for more than five minutes… the brain will try to distract you in a wide variety of ways… but as those are the only ones without certainty… some brains like to dwell longer in those… which triggers anxiety)

I teased not long ago, that I hoped bans would actually work…

That no personal screens/phones would mean no more mental health supports would be needed (hahaha)

That students would not be distracted while in learning environments.

That there would be no more #FOMO (fear of missing out)

You know, like when us older people were growing up… when we dealt with our own mental unwellness in much less positive ways; where we just skipped school; used notes instead of DMs; and didn’t think at all about what was going on around us (locally and globally)…

Eye roll emoji

I like his share to push ‘play’ – knowing that play is always somewhat risky (oooh, reminder to expect a lot of absent youth on November 19 – the new GTA [grand theft auto] is getting released) 

We want risks to be reasonable… but I know I like it when there is some push as to what ‘reasonable’ means… 

Dr Peter Gray used to work with Haidt… 

He’s shifted away from a shared organization when said organization also jumped on the ‘ban it’ bandwagon…

There is a place for balance.

Not for moral panicking (as we are with smartphones.)

(And social medias… which like all medias have problems that need education to help figure out the good stuff)

Is it perhaps jealousy? I only dreamed of one device that would replace my Walkman, 

far side anthology, 

David Eddings novel, 

PXL 2000 (Fischer price video camera that used cassette tapes!!!) 

paper pad and pencil that always broke (rivals when my new pencil runs out of battery), 

a way to chat with friends regardless of postal code, 

play a video game (I mean the hand held games we had did exist but…  really…. Not good… even the Atari jaguar would’ve been better…

And I could go on…

Another blog to follow – I was just really exited to share that this book is doing a much more comprehensive look at anxiety and pressures going beyond something thats not even old enough to drink (in the US).