Press Release: Tuchman Family Foundation announces support for the Anxious Generation Project
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Amy Fletcher Faircloth
(720) 460-0276
Press release: Tuchman Family Foundation announces
support for the Anxious Generation Project
Gift will support education, research and tools to address
the mental health harm of screen time on children and adolescents
Denver, CO – The Tuchman Family Foundation has committed $255,000 in multi-year funding to the Anxious Generation Project, an initiative dedicated to addressing the mental health crisis among youth resulting from a childhood often dominated by screens and social media.
The Anxious Generation Campaign is a movement sparked by author and NYU Stern School of Business social psychologist Jonathan Haidt, whose book, The Anxious Generation, examines the alarming increase in youth anxiety, depression, sleep deprivation, attention fragmentation, and addiction since the rise of a “phone-based childhood” and decline of the “play-based” childhood, beginning in the early 2010s.
With almost half of teens reporting they’re online "almost all of the time," and phones having a nearly ubiquitous presence in classrooms, Haidt cites extensive research underscoring the need for change –– and provides a clear roadmap for action. The project advocates for four “new norms”: bell-to-bell phone-free schools, no smartphones before high school, no social media before age 16, and more opportunities for independent free play and real-world responsibility for youth.
“Haidt and his team are tackling one of the most urgent challenges of our time,” said Debra Tuchman, co-founder of the Tuchman Family Foundation. “We are proud to support the Anxious Generation Campaigns’ strategies to improve youth mental health and foster a better future for our children.”
The mission of the Tuchman Family Foundation is to help people build safe, healthy and productive lives by supporting breakthrough medical research, driving positive social change, and enhancing community well-being. Supporting the Anxious Generation Campaign aligns with the Foundation’s goal of enabling youth to experience a play-rich, screen-free, and community-centered childhood.
“We are grateful for the Tuchman Family Foundation’s generous support,” said Alexa Arnold, Managing Director of the Anxious Generation Campaign. “These funds will help us expand our research and fuel our policy and culture change work, supporting young people, parents, educators and policymakers in bringing about much-needed change and create a better, healthier future for generations to come.”
“This is a movement we hope others will join us in supporting,” Tuchman said. “Together we believe we can make a meaningful impact on youth mental health.”
For resources, tools, and research from the Anxious Generation Project, visit anxiousgeneration.com.
About the Tuchman Family Foundation
Based in Colorado, the Tuchman Family Foundation embodies the entrepreneurial spirit of its founders, Kenneth and Debra Tuchman, in its efforts to help people build safe, healthy and productive lives. The foundation is committed to advancing K-12 education innovation, breakthrough medical research, positive social change, community well-being and environmental sustainability.
About the Anxious Generation Campaign
The Anxious Generation Campaign is the social impact effort launched on the heels of Jonathan Haidt’s most recent book of the same name. The campaign’s goal is to roll back the phone-based childhood and reignite the play-based childhood by driving efficient and lasting change in culture, policy, and behavior.
