The next chapter of TAG

Picture a childhood with more room in it. More room to wonder, to take risks, to be bored. More room to feel connected and understood. More room than any device or app can provide.

This foundation — the chance to flourish — is what I want for my sons. It’s what everyone wants for the kids in their lives.

This is the world we are building.

Where we’ve been

When The Anxious Generation came out in 2024, Jon Haidt put into words something many of us were already feeling: technology had moved faster than our instincts, our schools, and our laws could keep up with. And kids were suffering through this social experiment.

For so many teachers, parents, young people, and policymakers, the book gave them the evidence and momentum they needed to accelerate the social change they’d already been driving. And for others it was the spark.

With a small and mighty team, Jon and I launched a campaign to turn the book’s solutions into reality. We knew we were up against a monumental problem, but we also knew we had to act.

We heard heartbreaking stories from parent survivors. We talked with governors and heads of state. We worked hand in hand with parents hungry to act and with young people who were fed up with paying the price. We partnered with incredible grassroots organizations and advocates to provide teachers and policymakers with tools and model bills.

Three years later, the impact of these collective efforts is undeniable. Forty-two states have passed phone-free school policies. Over a dozen countries are moving on age minimums and mandated design changes for social media platforms. Culture is changing at warp speed: ’90s nostalgia is trending, the landline is back, and Big Tech is facing a growing backlash from the public and accountability in the courts.

Where we’re headed

Yet, the threats keep coming. It’s not just smartphones and social media anymore — it’s a new wave of AI chatbots reaching kids faster than anyone can vet and an oversaturation of educational technology that hasn’t yet been shown to help kids learn. The childhood our kids deserve is within reach, but there is no way to outparent an addictive algorithm.

This is why the TAG Movement is evolving from a three-year campaign into a 501 (c)(3): a permanent home for this work, built to outlast any book, campaign, or news cycle.

This movement has never been about one book, one person, or one organization. This movement has progressed because of every parent who has changed a house rule, every young person speaking up about what accountable tech looks like, every teacher pushing for a bell-to-bell phone-free school policy, and every legislator willing to champion this issue. TAG’s job is to make sure no one does this work alone, and to help create a world where all kids have room to flourish.

With gratitude,

Alexa Arnold, Cofounder and CEO of the TAG Movement