Jonathan Haidt Shares His Views on Russell Moore Show
Jonathan Haidt thinks things changed in 2014. The NYU professor, psychologist, and author recently wrote a lengthy article for The Atlantic, "Social Media Is Making America Stupid." He has been trying to put his finger on what has been shifting in our culture for the past eight years.
Haidt says it began when students started to say certain speakers should be banned from campus based on their beliefs or backgrounds. Shortly after, the ideas and practices surrounding “safe spaces,” conversations around microaggressions, and trigger warnings became mainstream. Students seemed to suddenly be highly sensitive to the world around them and the adults began catering to their requests. But why did that happen? What was the undercurrent that caused this enormous shift in education, the liberal arts, and the freedom of speech?
On this episode of The Russell Moore Show, Haidt digs into these questions, attempting to explain the enormity of these cultural changes. What started in the university setting rapidly spread into most realms of work and even into the church.
But Haidt believes the main cause is fairly simple: the first generation of individuals who grew up using social media was beginning to enter adulthood, setting foot on college campuses, entering the workforce, and bringing with them an entirely new set of expectations for reality. Haidt unpacks just how deeply social media has shaped our society, and more importantly, the very minds of developing children and teenagers.
Christian Union has championed both free speech as well as spiritual disciplines that help students like the ones Haidt is discussing to rise out of the social media fog so they might be witnesses to the Kingdom of God.
Listen to the full podcast here.
