Cultivating Resilience and Agency (Situational Irony)
Haidt describes the "well-intentioned and disastrous shift toward overprotecting children and restricting their autonomy in the real world" (Introduction). At the same time, many parents have not been able to sufficiently protect their children online. This situation exemplifies situational irony because parents intended to protect their children from harm, but ended up making them more vulnerable to harm for two reasons. The first is that restricting real-world free play prevents children from developing important coping skills. The second is that children need more shielding and monitoring online, but are often given free rein.
Online Platforms and Connection (Dramatic Irony)
Online platforms such as social media are marketed as tools of connection. Words like "friends," "likes," and "follows" portray a sense of intimacy and belonging. However, while social media can foster connection in certain cases, it also increases loneliness and envy. This demonstrates dramatic irony because those reading The Anxious Generation now understand the potentially hidden harms of a technology purportedly built to connect people.
