NYU Professor: Do This for 2 Weeks to Get Your Focus, Motivation, & Life Back

Mel Robbins (0:00)

Hey, it's your friend Mel, and welcome to The Mel Robbins Podcast.

I am so glad that you are here with me right now, because today Dr. Jonathan Haidt is in our studio. He is a professor at NYU Stern School of Business and the world's leading researcher on how social media and quick dopamine has devastated people's mental health. Because of Dr. Haidt's research, Meta has agreed to pay up to $17.1 billion in damages, due to the claims that Facebook and Instagram have harmed the mental health of kids, teenagers, and adults everywhere. Dr. Haidt is here today to unpack his groundbreaking research that led to this landmark settlement, and he has a new warning about quick dopamine and social media. And how it has impacted boys very differently than girls. Now, I'm a mom of three kids. We have two daughters and a 21-year-old son. And my husband and I knew about the research that connected social media, quick dopamine, as a causal factor in the rise of anxiety, depression, and mental health issues in girls. But here's what we didn't know. We didn't know the devastating and very different impact that social media and quick dopamine has on a boy's brain. What you're about to learn will leave your jaw on the floor. And it will also connect the dots, because once you learn it, it makes so much sense. Your son, your grandson, your brother, your nephew, your boyfriend, your spouse, they're not lazy.

It's the short-form content, the gambling, the video games, the porn. All this quick dopamine is the cause of the boys and men in their life losing focus, confidence, motivation, and the drive to put themselves out there, to believe in themselves, to build the life that makes them happy. So if you're seeing a lack of motivation in someone you love, if you're watching him withdraw, this conversation could change everything. And the timing of you listening to this could not be more important. See, Dr. Haidt and I sat down just a couple weeks ago before Meta settled this case, before Meta agreed to pay $17.1 billion to settle these three-year-long lawsuits.

Dr. Haidt is here today to educate you, not just about the harm, but to share very good news based on the research. There are specific changes you can make today that help you get your attention, motivation, your focus back. So if you or the people that you love stick with the simple plan that Dr. Haidt is going to outline in this episode, your brain, your motivation, your whole life comes back.

Hey, it's your friend Mel and welcome to The Mel Robbins Podcast. I am thrilled that you are here with me today. It's always an honor to be together. It's always an honor to spend time with you, but today in particular, wow.

This is one heck of a conversation. If you're new, if somebody sent this to you, I just want to take a moment and personally welcome you to The Mel Robbins Podcast family. The episode today is incredible because you and I are sitting down with Dr. Jonathan Haidt, one of the most influential social psychologists of our time. He's one of the leading voices in the world on how social media and quick dopamine is changing childhood, mental health. It's changing everything. In fact, you may have heard of his landmark New York Times bestseller, The Anxious Generation. And I'm just going to set up the conversation by saying, you're listening to this at an extraordinary moment.

Over the last three years, there's been a landmark, multi-state youth mental health lawsuit against Meta. And Dr. Haidt's research and years of warnings were a key part of the expert testimony and the record in this lawsuit. Now, Dr. Haidt and I sat down and recorded this conversation before that settlement was even announced. But in the conversation, Dr. Haidt and I talk about these lawsuits and the internal Meta documents that came out through discovery, and what they reveal about the addictive nature of these platforms and the fact that the platforms ignored these warnings. Now, let me tell you about Dr. Haidt. He earned his PhD in Social Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania. He spent 16 years teaching at the University of Virginia, where he won four teaching awards, and today he is a professor at NYU Stern School of Business. He's the author of four New York Times bestsellers, and I think you can tell by the passion in my voice that I know you're going to find this conversation to be one part wake up call, one part revelatory, but you're also going to leave empowered, knowing that there's something simple that you and your family can do, and it's going to bring your life back. I cannot wait for you to experience this, so please help me welcome Dr. Jonathan Haidt to The Mel Robbins Podcast.