Capitalizing on Addictive Products (Simile)
In the introduction, Haidt compares the behavior of some tech companies to the tobacco and vaping industries in how they designed highly addictive products and marketed them to minors. Just as the tobacco and vaping industries worked around laws limiting marketing to minors, social media companies do not adequately verify and enforce minimum ages for users.
Time Travel (Simile)
In Chapter 2, Haidt instructs the reader to imagine falling asleep in 2007 and then waking up a decade later to witness the widespread digital paradigm shift. He compares this hypothetical scenario to the 1819 story by Washington Irving, "Rip Van Winkle." In the story, Van Winkle is a farmer who falls asleep for two decades in the Catskill Mountains. He sleeps through the American Revolution and awakens to find himself in a transformed world. This goes to show how technology can accelerate societal change in a short amount of time.
Starved For Connection (Metaphor)
In Chapter 2, Haidt uses a metaphor comparing loneliness to starvation. The metaphor implies that emotional and social needs are an essential form of nourishment.
Stress Wood Demonstrating the Need for Antifragility (Metaphor)
In Chapter 3, Haidt writes that "stress wood is a perfect metaphor for children, who also need to experience frequent stressors in order to become strong adults." Stress wood is a type of dense and strong wood produced in response to mechanical stress. The source of stress could be wind, gravity, or tilting. Here, Haidt uses the comparison to underline how children become stronger by being challenged.
A Practical Digital Tool (Metaphor)
Haidt describes acquiring the first model of the iPhone in 2008. He conveys its simple practicality by calling it "a digital Swiss Army knife" (Chapter 5). The difference between early iterations and later models is that the former were "not designed to be addictive or to monopolize...attention."
