To our digital thriving community, Welcome to the fourth installment of our limited newsletter and video series, Three for Thriving, where we share some the latest news articles at the intersection of youth well-being and technology.
Our Three for Thriving video recap breaks down these trending stories—watch it here for more context. Read on for the full roundup of news stories from this past week that sparked our team's curiosity.
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BBC | Amanda Parr & Leigh Boobyer | People 'will find a way' to harmful content - teens BBC reporting reveals that despite the UK’s new Online Safety Act, teens remain frequently exposed to harmful content—including suicide, self-harm, and sexual material—through both passive browsing and everyday interactions on platforms like TikTok and Instagram. Students and experts alike expressed doubts about the effectiveness of current safeguards, calling for stronger regulation, algorithm transparency, and more proactive involvement from parents and educators.
Brookings | Purnima Aggarwal, Gabrielle Harris, and Katharine Meyer | Governors address youth mental health and well-being amid federal funding cuts Brookings reports that, as federal funding for school mental health services decreases, governors are taking varied approaches to support student well-being. Democratic leaders focus on expanding mental health resources and universal school meals, while Republican governors emphasize school safety and phone bans, all while grappling with staff shortages and increasing youth mental health issues.
Carnegie Learning | Jimmy Brehm | Survey: AI Optimism Is Rising, but Cheating and Privacy Concerns Persist Carnegie Learning reports growing optimism among educators about AI in K-12 classrooms, with increased use and interest in responsible integration, though concerns about cheating, privacy, and lack of training remain.
CNN | Madeline Holcombe | Teens should be trained before entering the world of social media, APA says CNN covers a new recommendation from the American Psychological Association (APA) that teens should undergo structured training before using social media, much like earning a driver's license. The guidelines stress age-appropriate monitoring and content limitations, with an emphasis on research into social media's effects, particularly on underrepresented youth.
The Conversation | Jasleen Chhabra, Vita Pilkington, Zac Seidler | Banning young people from social media sounds like a silver bullet. Global evidence suggests otherwise The Conversation highlights how banning under-16s from social media might sound like a simple fix for mental health issues, but experts warn it could do more harm than good. The piece emphasizes that better regulation, smarter design, and involving young people in policymaking are more effective than blanket bans.
Financial Times | Elaine Moore | How one teenager uses AI In the Financial Times, Elaine Moore profiles 16-year-old Lara Jeetley, who uses ChatGPT daily for school and self-reflection, illustrating how teens are increasingly embracing AI for its speed and interactivity. While experts caution about potential mental health effects and overreliance, Lara and her peers view AI as an indispensable part of their academic and personal lives.
Forbes | Emily Baker-White | These AI Tutors For Kids Gave Fentanyl Recipes And Dangerous Diet Advice In an investigation by Forbes, AI tutoring bots from CourseHero and KnowUnity were found to provide harmful content—including drug recipes and dangerous dieting advice—when manipulated with hypothetical prompts. The report highlights serious gaps in AI safety within educational tools and calls attention to the need for more responsible deployment by tech startups.
Forbes | Ryan Craig | AI Is About To Make Us Redesign Education Around Work Forbes dives into how AI is shaking up education, with Ryan Craig arguing that our current school systems aren't preparing students for an AI-powered job market. He calls for a shift toward real-world learning—like internships, project-based college work, and AI-savvy skills—to bridge the growing gap between education and employment.
Fortune | Beatrice Nolan | Northeastern college student demanded her tuition fees back after catching her professor using OpenAI’s ChatGPT Fortune’s Beatrice Nolan reports on a Northeastern University student, Ella Stapleton, who demanded a tuition refund after discovering her professor used ChatGPT to create course content without disclosure. The case, which Northeastern ultimately rejected, has sparked broader debate over transparency and trust as faculty adoption of AI tools becomes more common in higher education.
The Hill | Miranda Nazzaro | Senators reintroduce landmark kids’ online safety bill The Hill reports that Senators Blackburn and Blumenthal have reintroduced the bipartisan Kids Online Safety Act, aiming to protect children’s mental health by regulating tech platforms, with new revisions addressing past free speech concerns. The bill now has backing from major tech firms like Apple and X, reflecting growing industry support for child safety regulations online.
The Independent | Ella Duggan | Teens have an attention span of 14 minutes, could this dumbphone help? The Independent reports that UK teens have an average attention span of just 14 minutes when studying, largely due to distractions from apps like TikTok and Snapchat. In response, some are switching to minimalist "dumbphones" such as the revived Nokia 3210, reflecting a growing Gen Z trend toward digital minimalism to improve concentration and academic performance.
KQED | Nimah Gobir | How Better Conversations Can Help Fight Misinformation and Build Media Literacy KQED highlights a panel from the 2025 SXSW EDU conference on improving media literacy in the face of misinformation. Experts argued that teaching media literacy should focus on respectful dialogue and community, not just fact-checking, and called for better training for teachers to make these strategies more accessible.
Nature Human Behaviour | Amira Skeggs & Amy Orben | Social media interventions to improve well-being Research published in Nature Human Behaviour explores a new way to boost well-being through social media interventions, using self-determination theory to guide the approach. The authors suggest it's not just about cutting screen time but making online experiences more meaningful—emphasizing autonomy, connection, and competence in how we interact digitally.
The New York Times | Claire Cain Miller | It’s Not Just a Feeling: Data Shows Boys and Young Men Are Falling Behind The New York Times highlights alarming data showing that boys and young men in the U.S. are increasingly falling behind in education, mental health, and achieving adulthood milestones, with experts calling for systemic changes in how society supports and educates them. The article stresses the urgency of rethinking masculinity norms and school environments to help boys thrive alongside their female peers.
The New York Times | Ezra Klein | ‘We Have to Really Rethink the Purpose of Education’ The New York Times featured an interview with Rebecca Winthrop on the Ezra Klein Show exploring how generative AI is challenging the traditional goals of education and pushing schools to prioritize adaptability, lifelong learning, and purpose over rote knowledge. They argue that education must evolve to meet a future where fulfillment and flexibility matter more than standardized test scores.
The New York Times | Jessica Grose | A.I. Will Destroy Critical Thinking in K-12 The New York Times’ Jessica Grose warns that introducing AI into K–12 education could erode critical thinking and social skills, arguing that a recent federal push for AI in classrooms risks prioritizing technology over meaningful human connection. She cites studies showing that students using AI tools often perform worse on independent assessments, urging policymakers to focus on people-first educational approaches.
The New York Times | Kashmir Hill | The Professors Are Using ChatGPT, and Some Students Aren’t Happy About It In The New York Times, tensions are rising in academia as professors increasingly use AI tools like ChatGPT to assist with lesson preparation and grading, while some students push back, accusing instructors of hypocrisy for prohibiting students from using the same tools. The article delves into the ethical concerns surrounding AI in education and the need for clear policies on its use.
The New York Times | Rina Raphael | The Rise of the ‘Crunchy Teen’ Wellness Influence In The New York Times, Rina Raphael explores the rise of “crunchy teen” wellness influencers like 17-year-old Ava Noe, who promote natural lifestyles and question mainstream health norms on social media. While their content resonates with health-conscious youth, experts express concern over misinformation and the influencers' lack of qualifications in providing health guidance.
NPR | Brittany Luse | The Political Power of Gen Z Women NPR’s It's Been a Minute dives into the political leanings of Gen Z women, with Brittany Luse, Rachel Janfaza, and Claire Cain Miller unpacking how events like Trump’s presidency and Roe v. Wade shaped a sharp leftward shift—especially among women—while Gen Z men remain more conservative, deepening the gender divide in politics and culture.
Oxford Internet Institute | Andrew Przybylski | Expert Comment: How the social media debate on teen mental health is missing the point Oxford Internet Institute’s Andrew Przybylski challenges the simplistic link between teen mental health and social media, arguing in his expert commentary that nuanced, condition-specific data reveals a much more complex relationship that demands better research and policy grounded in teens’ real digital lives.
Parents | Hannah Nwoko | Why the ‘Crunchy Teen’ Trend Definitely Needs Some Parental Intervention A Parents article reports on a new study by Sandy Hook Promise, which found that 54% of boys aged 10–17 regularly encounter sexualized firearm content online. The study warns that such hypermasculine, violent content—often delivered via algorithms and influencers—can distort young boys' views on power and masculinity, prompting calls for ethical advertising, media literacy education, and legislative protections for minors.
TechCrunch | Aisha Malik | TikTok rolls out a new meditation feature to help you get off the app and sleep TechCrunch reports that TikTok is rolling out a bedtime meditation feature to help teens wind down and get off their screens at night. The app will gently prompt under-18 users after 10 p.m. with calming exercises, all part of its broader mental health push—including a major donation to global mental health orgs.
Vox | Anna North | “Dry texting,” explained Vox explores how teens engage in “dry texting” and other subtle digital cues to avoid direct conflict, revealing that phones often serve as tools for passive-aggressive communication rather than confrontation. While these behaviors can heighten anxiety, some teens and experts argue that texting also provides emotional distance and time for reflection, highlighting the complex role of technology in adolescent social dynamics.
WIRED | Elana Klein | The Biggest Dating App Faux Pas for Gen Z? Being Cringe WIRED explores how “being cringe” has become the ultimate dating app taboo for Gen Z, with writer Elana Klein highlighting how irony and emotional distance are replacing sincerity—potentially at the cost of real romantic connection.
A few words on our approach...
We track dozens of stories each week across youth mental health, AI in education, tech policy, and more. Then, we curate this newsletter to share the emerging trends, tensions, and ideas shaping the digital lives of young people. Inclusion of a story doesn’t mean it reflects our thinking—it means we think it’s worth understanding. This newsletter is all about capturing what we see across the landscape and surfacing the patterns that are shaping the conversation. While we use AI to help with organization and drafting, this newsletter is very much human made. And sometimes, humans make mistakes. If you catch one, let us know!
View email in browser. To our digital thriving community,Welcome to the ninth edition of Three for Thriving, our weekly video and newsletter series from the Center for Digital Thriving, where we share headlines at the intersection of youth well-being and technology. This week, we’re spotlighting: New research published in JAMA that reframes the screen time debate around patterns of use, not just hours logged Two very different stories about how AI chatbots are showing up in teen mental health...
View email in browser. To our digital thriving community,Welcome to the eighth edition of Three for Thriving, our weekly video and newsletter series from the Center for Digital Thriving, where we share headlines at the intersection of youth well-being and technology. In this week’s recap, we’re spotlighting a global analysis from the American Psychological Association that links screen use and emotional challenges in young kids, OpenAI’s ambitious effort to embed AI tools across college...
View email in browser. To our digital thriving community,Welcome to the seventh installment of our newsletter and video series, Three for Thriving, where we share some the latest news articles at the intersection of youth well-being and technology. In this week’s video recap, we’re spotlighting how narratives about adolescence are shifting— from Hollywood-crafted stories of rebellion to the self-produced content teens now create and consume on their phones. We also look at the rise of AI as...
