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What We're All Getting Wrong About Education - Jared Cooney Horvath

2026-07-30 · 10:00 UTC ·Soft White Underbelly ·1 min read

Brief

Jared Cooney Horvath, in a Soft White Underbelly interview (published 2026-07-30; ~1:23:28), argues that smartphones, screens and AI are undermining human connection and deep thinking. He frames reform around resilience and purposeful struggle, critiques simplistic calls to 'fix' schools, and discusses practical trade-offs (smartphone policy, homeschooling, nature vs. nurture) for educators and parents.

Why it matters

Jared Cooney Horvath (neuroscientist/educator) warns that widespread smartphone and AI use is reshaping childhood—linking screens to reduced human connection, impaired deep thinking, and mental-health risks; these concerns appear throughout the 1h23m interview (see segments at 11:35, 20:50, 1:13:38).

Key details

  • Cooney reframes schooling: he rejects the 'broken' label for education but urges U.S. schools to prioritize struggle, resilience, and human connection over happiness or surface learning, and outlines reforms and debates (school smartphone bans, nature vs. nurture, homeschooling) in segments at 38:22 and 41:11.
Source evidence

Soft White Underbelly interview and portrait of Jared Cooney Horvath, a neuroscientist and educator specializing in human development. Subscribe through my link https://ground.news/swu or download the mobile app and enter promo code SWU to save 40% off their Vantage plan.

Here's Jared's IG https://www.instagram.com/jared.cooney.horvath/
and website: www.lmeglobal.net

0:00 When Should Kids Get a Smartphone?
0:26 Why Education Isn't Broken
3:21 Parents, Screens & Early Childhood Development
6:16 AI, Big Tech & the Future of Childhood
10:11 Ground News
11:35 How Smartphones Are Destroying Human Connection
13:52 The Biggest Parenting Mistakes Today
18:26 Why Kids Need Human Connection
20:50 Should Schools Ban Smartphones?
24:34 Has Technology Made Us Smarter?
27:34 AI Is Making Us Worse at Thinking
32:51 Nature vs. Nurture: What Builds Intelligence?
35:25 Is Homeschooling Better?
36:45 The Real Purpose of Public Education
38:22 How to Fix America's Schools
41:11 Do Successful People Need School?
44:51 Is America Falling Behind?
50:20 Why Happiness Shouldn't Be the Goal
53:02 Mental Health, Addiction & Resilience
1:01:41 How Technology Is Reshaping Childhood
1:13:38 Why Children Need Struggle to Grow
1:23:28 Final Thoughts

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Channel: Soft White Underbelly
Published: 2026-07-30
Video URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zdhuHg1juAs