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On the April 8 episode of The Oprah Podcast, media mogul Oprah Winfrey appeared visibly shocked after hearing that nearly half of all two-year-olds in the US reportedly have their own iPads. The statistic came up during her conversation with NYU social psychologist and bestselling author Jonathan Haidt, who was promoting his book, The Anxious Generation.
A little later in the conversation, Oprah brought up the statistic once again. Holding her head in her hand, she said,
"I'm blown away by that two-year-old statistic."
Haidt also warned that the rise in anxiety, depression, and addictive behaviors among teens is directly tied to screen use and social media, and that this “rewiring of childhood” now begins as early as with toddlers. Oprah Winfrey’s stunned reaction underscored the growing concern over how smart devices may reshape not just adolescence but early childhood development.
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What did Oprah Winfrey and Jonathan Haidt say about screen addiction in children?
The conversation opened with Oprah Winfrey asking whether screen addiction has become a widespread problem among teens. Haidt then replied with two statistics he described as “horrific,” with one of them including toddlers.
“40 percent, that's the number of two-year-olds in this country who have their own iPads,” he said, prompting a stunned expression from Oprah.
He also spoke about teens, explaining that 48 percent of adolescents in America "say they are online almost constantly.” According to Haidt, most teens are in a state of partial presence, often distracted by their phones even during in-person conversations.
Haidt added that many parents now rely on devices to manage household routines, as he said,
“Americans have basically realized that, 'hey, if I just give the kid an iPad, I can have some peace, I can check my email, I can make dinner' — and we’re using it as a babysitter.”
Haidt says early screen exposure may lead to long-term brain damage
The podcast episode, titled Oprah and Jonathan Haidt on How Social Media Is Changing Childhood, focused on how the digital environment is affecting children’s mental health. Haidt argued that the shift from outdoor, face-to-face childhoods to solitary screen-based lives is contributing to an “epidemic of mental illness.”
He warned that this kind of exposure, especially during early brain development, could cause “long-term and irreversible damage.” Drawing from his book, Haidt urged parents to take action now by limiting device use, setting screen-time boundaries, and encouraging real-world social interaction.
The podcast episode also featured conversations with teens and parents across the US, many of whom shared struggles with balancing screen time, school, and sleep. Several teens admitted that they couldn’t even go more than a few minutes without checking their phones.
Haidt also emphasized that the concern is no longer limited to teenagers.
“This isn’t just about teens. It’s about how we’re designing childhood itself.”
