By Hannah Edelen & Guest Writer, Aleah Stigall

Aleah Stigall is a 17-year-old senior at Boyle County High School and has a passion for connection. She strives to teach the importance of real relationships with real people, as she shared at the 2026 Town Hall on Kids at Children’s Advocacy Day at the Capitol. 

Through her personal initiative, “Disconnect To Connect – Let’s Get Real,” Aleah educates her peers and others on the importance of disconnecting from social media and technology and instead connecting through relationships, interactions, and engagement experiences. 

“After a tough sleepover with my friends, where they spent all of their time on their new phones, I realized the disconnect within my generation. Teens would rather text than call and play video games over board games together. We do not realize how essential these real relationships are for our lives. In an effort to create change in my community, I spend time making bracelets, advocating on social media, planning lessons for my school visits, and connecting with others who share this passion and want to connect.”

Aleah encourages individuals to CONNECT through her acronym:

“Connection has transformed my own mental health. After seven years of speech therapy, communication was intimidating for me. This initiative helped me to practice my communication and advocacy skills, share my story, and educate others on the power of connection. It turned what some may consider weaknesses into strengths. Connecting with others now comes naturally. 

Connection will always be a crucial part of my life. It has equipped me with tools to face challenges within our society and myself. Brene Brown says, ‘Connection is why we’re here; it is what gives purpose and meaning to our lives.’ 

Connection is the solution to many of the problems in today’s society.  Let’s focus on the solution instead of the problems!” 

Creating Solutions for Youth in the Digital Space

Beyond her initiative, Aleah advocates for statewide policy solutions and budgetary investments to create more opportunities for youth to disconnect to connect through relationships, experiences, and engagement. 

Aleah shares: “Research shows that participation in after-school or out-of-school time programs is linked to improved outcomes for students…youth need more experience in-school and out-of-school to connect. Youth need these types of experiences for their mental health. This past session, HB 686 would have created a way for experiences like this to be funded through social media lawsuits.”

House Bill 686 – a Blueprint for Kentucky’s Children and Bloom Kentucky policy priority – would have supported positive youth development by creating mechanisms to direct social media settlement dollars towards positive childhood experiences, directly aligning with Aleah’s personal mission. 

“Representative Moser’s HB 686 would have brought direct action to an issue that is plaguing our Commonwealth. With her goal of enhancing youth resilience and strengthening community-based, evidence-based programming, social connections will grow, therefore bettering the mental health of teens within our families. I hope legislators see this as a priority in 2027.” 

Beyond the social media settlement dollars, there are opportunities to improve the impact of social media, technology, AI, and other technology with a focus on kids and teens. Aleah is amongst many advocates determined to create new norms and help youth disconnect to connect for good.