Childhood has gone missing.
And social psychologist Jonathan Haidt and artist Dave Cicirelli are telling that story at the scenes of the crime. And hope to capture your story as well.
Youtube link for embedding: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ztm8Hna4SBU&t=1s
Haidt argues that for a little over a decade, we’ve been raising children in an environment hostile to human development. Kids are spending upwards of eight to nine hours a day on their phones and very little time playing in the real world with other kids. Their mental health has suffered and their real-world childhood has been taken away from them.
Based on the essential findings of Haidt’s new book, The Anxious Generation, we will blanket the centers of media, government, and tech in provocative images and installations that remove the filters from the phone-based coming of age.
This guerilla art takeover is anchored by a ten-foot-tall “Missing Childhood” milk cartons in prominent public spaces. These cartons will not just tell the tragic story of youth’s mental health decline but also be a forum for passerbyers to share their personal experiences with this dramatic shift in childhood. (quick video recap here)
Starting this week, our street team and film crew will be traveling with the Anxious Generation Art Takeover to the following cities:
Washington, DC — National Mall (3/22)
New York City — Union Square (3/25-3/26)
San Francisco — Pier 39 / Fisherman’s Wharf (3/27-2/28)
Los Angeles — TBD (4/2-4/3)
We hope this marks the moment we #FreeTheAnxiousGeneration and spurs more people to join us at anxiousgeneration.com.
How can you help? Please join us and our partners by sharing on social media:
Post our video or graphics to your social channels.
Use hashtag #FreeTheAnxiousGeneration. Tag @JonathanHaidt and @FreeTheAnxiousGeneration on IG. Link to anxiousgeneration.com.
If we’re near a city near you, visit the art project and post about your experience!
If you have any additional requests or questions please let me know. Thanks for being a part of growing this movement with us.
For media requests, the artist is available for interview: Dave.cicirelli@gmail.com
MEDIA GALLERY
About The Author
Jonathan Haidt is a social psychologist at New York University’s Stern School of Business. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania in 1992.
Haidt’s research examines the intuitive foundations of morality, and how morality varies across cultural and political divisions. Haidt is the author of The Happiness Hypothesis (2006) and of the New York Times bestsellers The Righteous Mind (2012) and The Coddling of the American Mind (2018, with Greg Lukianoff).
He has given four TED talks. In 2019 he was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Since 2018 he has been studying the contributions of social media to the decline of teen mental health and the rise of political dysfunction.
His next book is The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness. It will be published March 26, 2024.
About The Artist
Dave Cicirelli is a conceptual artist and author who focuses on experiential works in which audience interactions create meaning.
His works include Fakebook: A True Story Based on Actual Lies (2013), an early exploration of social media.
His signature piece and namesake of his studio is “The Infinity Cube,” a visual concept that uses proprietary techniques to create kinetic and infinite landscapes within a confined space. It is currently the centerpiece for Peacock’s promotions of the 2024 Olympic Games.
His interest in perception and behavior led him to Jonathan Haidt’s work, and ultimately to a friendship and a series of collaborations such as All Minus One: John Stuart Mill’s Ideas on Free Speech illustrated (2018).
Learn more: davecicirelli.com | InfinityCubeStudio.com