Community book club targets cell phone use, mental health
Published 4:21 pm Tuesday, July 7, 2026
DALLAS CITY — Reading The Anxious Generation made an impression on Dallas City Elementary Principal Alissa Tucker and Dean of Students Kaitlyn Woolson about the impact of technology and cell phones.
“It kind of lit a fire under us that we needed to do something and share that knowledge with others that deal with children — parents, community members, fellow teachers,” Tucker said.
So the school district partnered with Memorial Hospital and the Tracy Family Foundation to offer a book club, starting in September, focused on the book by Jonathan Haidt.
“I’m hoping it will open eyes with information regarding how cell phones in particular are changing the brain of children, and maybe not in the best ways or ways we wish it would,” Tucker said. “We hope to provide information to help everyone make more informed decisions when setting boundaries for kids and cell phones.”
Open to all adults ages 18 and older, the club will meet once a month for seven in-person sessions. Dates, times, and locations for each session will be announced via email after registration. Participants who register by the end of August will get a complimentary copy of the book.
Haidt hopes to counter what he sees as a dramatic decline in mental health since the growing popularity of cell phones and worries that a phone-based childhood is harming child development, causing sleep deprivation, and creating more social isolation.
“He’s hoping we can create a shift and allow children to engage in real-world play on playgrounds, outside the home, and away from devices, and hoping that governments will enact more laws to protect kids online,” Tucker said.
The school district already has policies in place regarding cell phones.
Dallas City allows students in grades 5-8 to bring phones to school, but phones must remain in lockers during the school day. Plans this year call for being more vigilant about smart watches and earbuds in classrooms “to eliminate some of those issues and create an environment where kids can focus on their schoolwork with less focus on cell phones,” Tucker said.
Experienced educators and behavioral health professionals will guide book club sessions designed to foster understanding and practical insight through discussions about the impact of smartphones, social media, and technology on youth mental health.
“We’re hoping to create an environment where there’s shared information so we can make some decisions for kids in our communities, our schools, and our homes that will protect them, keep them safer, and help their brains develop better,” Tucker said. “We will have counselors from Memorial at each of our sessions to provide a lens from the mental health perspective.”
More Information
Registration and more information about a community book club focused on “The Anxious Generation” by Jonathan Haidt are available by contacting Alissa Tucker at atucker@dallascity.k12.il.us or Kaitlyn Woolson at kwoolson@dallascity.k12.il.us.
