There’s been a lot of talk as of late (and over the past couple of years) in the news and in Frankfort about screen time, AI, cell phones, social media, and more. Advocates, researchers, educators, and key leaders are making noise because of the significant implications on children and teens.

Some argue that technology and extensions thereof is the latest moral panic. 

Y’all remember when people got bent out of shape over rock n’ roll or even the internet?

While some feel the tech debate is inflated, we know that data and research show that these issues are linked to impacts on cognitive development, youth mental health, safety and privacy, social skills, among others.

Notably, works such as Jonathan Haidt’s The Anxious Generation argue that the “play-based” childhood has been replaced with a “phone-based” childhood and has contributed to a host of youth challenges. While Jacob Horvath’s The Digital Delusion argues educational technology overuse has impacted student cognitive development. Youth suicide linked to chatbots have surfaced the headlines and a major multi-district litigation against social media companies is currently underway. These developments have contributed to policy implications across the nation.

State leaders in Kentucky and across the country have adopted cell phone bans in schools, considered limitations on screen time (Kentucky lawmakers focused on this topic during the July 6th IJC on Education), grappled with the addictive features of social media, and contended with regulating AI chatbots.

Technology & Child and Adolescent Development 

While each of these topics have subtle differences, what they all have in common is debate around how technology impacts and shapes child and adolescent development and well-being. Similar to the brain’s ability to become addicted to a drug, the brain can experience addiction to technology overactivating rewards centers, weakening executive function skills, and even disrupting emotional regulation. 

Many know that early childhood brain development is a rapid time of growth, but many do not realize that there is a second period of rapid brain growth that adolescents go through. This period of development is not only a time of immense hormones, but is when the brain is undergoing massive neurological changes becoming more specialized, pruning and focusing more energy on connections made, and is a time where key systems are being remodeled. These systems support things like memory, emotional regulation, learning, critical thinking, and regulating behaviors. 

Key arguments in the mult-district litigation against social media companies claim that platforms and their addictive design are “chemical” traps that hook young brains, essentially exploiting this vulnerable time of development.  

Nourishing our Future: We need Commonsense Solutions

Considering the data, research, and science of child and adolescent development, we have some significant opportunities to bolster these early developmental milestones and part of that is attending to challenges of the digital ecosystem, but also taking into account the other factors that shape the ways in which children grow and develop. 

In the tech debate, Kentucky leaders can:

• Direct the study and development of recommendations around appropriate use of screen time and technology in schools
• Support youth mental health by creating mechanisms to direct social media settlement dollars to positive youth development programs

Kids are hungry for connection, engagement, and nurturing environments that support their development and we know that this is why they are often turning to technology. 

We cannot ban our way out of this problem. We cannot ignore the reality that technology is integrated into our lives and has clear benefits. We can work thoughtfully to consider the complex systems that shape the future of our youth and create solutions that consider the implications of technology and that cultivate and nourish the environment we want that surrounds the mind, body, and spirit of our young people.