What Jonathan Haidt has said about Crisis of boys and young men

Haidt says the thing to watch for boys is not social media specifically but quick dopamine from gambling, porn, and video games carried in their pocket.

“For boys, the thing to keep your eye on isn't necessarily social media. It's quick dopamine. Boys now have a slot machine, a porn theater, a video game parlor”

The Mel Robbins Podcast: NYU Professor: Do This for 2 Weeks to Get Your Focus, Motivation, & Life Back (Sep 14, 2026) · Listen from 12:50

Haidt uses a metaphor of a thousand baited fishing hooks descending on a boy to describe the commercial competition for his attention.

“for boys, it's open season on their dopamine system. Open season, companies are sending out fishing fleets to try to suck out all the dopamine”

The Mel Robbins Podcast: NYU Professor: Do This for 2 Weeks to Get Your Focus, Motivation, & Life Back (Sep 14, 2026) · Listen from 28:01

Haidt claims many young men are effectively consigned to unmarriageability because their capacity to pursue long-term goals has been damaged.

“a lot of our boys are basically consigned to unmarriageability because they've been damaged by this and they don't have the ability to really pursue long-term goals”

The Mel Robbins Podcast: NYU Professor: Do This for 2 Weeks to Get Your Focus, Motivation, & Life Back (Sep 14, 2026) · Listen from 29:36

Haidt, citing Richard Reeves, says the gap between boys and girls is largest in the bottom half of the income distribution.

“as we go down in social class, it's the boys that are really, really dropping off. So that in the bottom half, economically, we see a huge gap between boys and girls”

The Mel Robbins Podcast: NYU Professor: Do This for 2 Weeks to Get Your Focus, Motivation, & Life Back (Sep 14, 2026) · Listen from 33:36