American Prospect Faults 26-Year-Old Freya India’s GIRLS Book for Flawed Gen Z Claims
Updated
Updated · The American Prospect · Jun 5
American Prospect Faults 26-Year-Old Freya India’s GIRLS Book for Flawed Gen Z Claims
1 articles · Updated · The American Prospect · Jun 5
Summary
The American Prospect’s June 2026 review argues Freya India’s GIRLS misdiagnoses Gen Z girls’ distress, saying a book sold as tech criticism spends more energy attacking divorce, hookup culture, religion’s decline and therapy than Big Tech.
The review says India relies on thin evidence—social posts, influencer videos and selective studies—while offering little reporting from young women themselves or scrutiny of the companies she claims to indict.
CDC data cited in the piece shows U.S. divorce rates have fallen by nearly half since the 1990s, undercutting one of India’s recurring explanations for anxiety among girls online.
One example the review highlights is Friend, an AI wearable India presents as evidence of demand for digital companionship: despite raising $8.5 million, it had sold only about 1,000 units by October 2025.
The article concludes that India’s 2021-born project ultimately speaks more to an older conservative audience than to Gen Z girls, reducing them to props for a broader cultural argument.