{"id":906190,"date":"2026-05-16T08:11:48","date_gmt":"2026-05-16T13:11:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/16\/cancel-culture-critic-to-nyu-grads-protect-your-attention-do-hard-things\/"},"modified":"2026-05-16T08:11:48","modified_gmt":"2026-05-16T13:11:48","slug":"cancel-culture-critic-to-nyu-grads-protect-your-attention-do-hard-things","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/16\/cancel-culture-critic-to-nyu-grads-protect-your-attention-do-hard-things\/","title":{"rendered":"Cancel Culture Critic To NYU Grads: Protect Your Attention, Do Hard Things"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Social psychologist Jonathan Haidt delivered an upbeat speech to grads despite the controversy.<\/span><\/p>\n

WireImage<\/small><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

Jonathan Haidt walked into Yankee Stadium on Thursday as one of New York University\u2019s most controversial commencement speakers in recent memory\u2014and left graduates with a surprisingly bullish message about the future.<\/p>\n

Before the ceremony, students had protested<\/a> NYU\u2019s decision to select the social psychologist and Stern School of Business professor as the graduation speaker, arguing that the choice of Haidt, a vocal critic of cancel culture, doesn\u2019t uphold \u201cthe values of inclusion, care, and respect for the graduating class,\u201d that they deserved. During the ceremony, some students booed Haidt as he spoke while others walked out.<\/p>\n

But Haidt\u2014author of the bestselling The Anxious Generation<\/em>\u2014used the moment less to relitigate culture wars than to deliver what sounded, in many ways, like a commencement speech for an economy of distraction.<\/p>\n

His core message to the Class of 2026: Your attention is your most valuable asset, and you should guard it accordingly.<\/p>\n

\u201cTreasure your attention,\u201d Haidt told graduates. \u201cWhat you pay attention to shapes what you care about and what you care about shapes what you become.\u201d Here\u2019s what he advised:<\/p>\n

Spend Your Attention Like Capital<\/h3>\n

Haidt framed attention as a scarce and increasingly monetized resource. In a digital economy built around engagement, he warned graduates that some of the world\u2019s largest companies are competing aggressively to capture their focus.<\/p>\n

\u201cMeta is valued at well over a trillion dollars, even though few of us have given it any money,\u201d he said. \u201cBecause it invented a business model that extracts attention from nearly half of all human beings on the planet, and it sells it to advertisers.\u201d<\/p>\n

He described social media, gaming and even investing apps as industries increasingly \u201cgamified\u201d to maximize screen time and distraction.<\/p>\n

Drawing on exercises from his NYU Stern course, Flourishing, Haidt said students are often shocked by how much better life feels after turning off notifications or deleting social media apps from their phones for even a week.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey get back precious hours each day and a feeling of agency over how to spend that time,\u201d he said. \u201cFor you and your life, it\u2019s priceless.\u201d<\/p>\n

Do Hard Things Because Resilience Compounds<\/h3>\n

Haidt also argued that graduates should stop fearing discomfort and actively seek challenges.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou should do hard things,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Then came the speech\u2019s biggest laugh line: \u201cIn the words of two great philosophers, Friedrich Nietzsche and Kelly Clarkson, what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.\u201d<\/p>\n

Haidt tied the point to his fellow NYU professor Nassim Nicholas Taleb\u2019s idea of being \u201canti-fragile\u201d\u2014the notion that humans grow stronger, rather than weaker, through stress and adversity.<\/p>\n

\u201cTake chances,\u201d he urged. \u201cSay yes to anything that will expand your capabilities.\u201d That can lead to better outcomes, Haidt suggested.<\/p>\n

Invest in Real-World Relationships<\/h3>\n

Haidt saved some of his strongest advice for relationships, warning graduates about the \u201cstrange kind of loneliness\u201d that can accompany adulthood in hyperconnected cities.<\/p>\n

\u201cFriendship now requires much more intentionality than it once did,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He encouraged graduates to prioritize real-world connection over digital interaction: Call people, invite friends to dinner, say yes to invitations and \u201cbe the one who makes things happen in the real world.\u201d<\/p>\n

And he closed with a broader message about flourishing in an age of distraction.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you treasure your intention and then use it to do hard things in real life with other people, then\u2014and trust me on this as a social psychologist,\u201d Haidt said, \u201cyour life is going to be amazing, and the world is going to be a far better place, because you’re in it.\u201d<\/p>\n

More on Forbes<\/strong><\/p>\n

Forbes<\/span>The Battle Over Gen Z Minds\u2014Sad, Bad Or Mad?<\/span>By Avivah Wittenberg-Cox<\/span><\/small><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

Forbes<\/span>Billionaire Gives $100 Million To UCSF, But Warns Big Donors Can\u2019t Fix College Funding Problems<\/span>By Lisa Chambers<\/span><\/small><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a>Forbes<\/span>After The Canvas Hack, Here\u2019s What Students And Colleges Should Do Next<\/span>By Lisa Chambers<\/span><\/small><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Read More<\/a>
\n Lisa Chambers<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Social psychologist Jonathan Haidt delivered an upbeat speech to grads despite the controversy. WireImage Jonathan Haidt walked into Yankee Stadium on Thursday as one of New York University\u2019s most controversial commencement speakers in recent memory\u2014and left graduates with a surprisingly bullish message about the future. Before the ceremony, students had protested NYU\u2019s decision to select<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":906191,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2108,693],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-906190","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cancel","category-culture"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/906190","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=906190"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/906190\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/906191"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=906190"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=906190"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=906190"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}