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.
AI’s recent dominance in stories about teens and screens is impossible to ignore. We continue to believe that conversations about young people should be with them, not just about them. #ICYMI: we released our first Youth Insights Memo to help elevate teen voices. It features ten timely takeaways on how teens are navigating—and feeling about—AI in their everyday lives.
Our Three for Thriving video recap breaks down these stories in under three minutes. Watch it here, and read on for the full roundup of headlines that sparked our team’s curiosity.
You can also follow along on LinkedIn, Instagram, or Bluesky. If someone forwarded this email, you can opt in here to have the next installment delivered direct to your inbox.
ABC News | Shafiq Najib & Anthony McMahon | TikTok rolls out new self-care features to give users more control over their content ABC News reports that TikTok is launching new self-care features, including enhanced topic management, advanced AI-powered keyword filtering, and an updated Safety Center Guide to help users personalize their content experience and maintain well-being. These updates are designed to give users—especially younger audiences and parents—more control over what they see, as part of TikTok’s broader move to improve digital wellness tools.
APA (American Psychological Association) | APA Health Advisory | Artificial intelligence and adolescent well-being In a series of releases, the APA warns that while AI offers exciting opportunities for teens, it also poses big risks like bias, misinformation, and blurred lines between real and artificial relationships. They encourage parents, educators, and tech companies to improve safeguards, AI literacy, and communication to keep kids safe and thriving.
The Atlantic | Hillary Kelly | What the Great Teen Movies Taught Us The Atlantic reflects on how classic teen movies once helped define growing up in America, but notes that today’s Gen Z is turning away from Hollywood and looking instead to peer-created content on social media—making it even harder for adults to keep up with or shape the culture of younger generations.
CBC News | Thinh Nguyen | A year in, teachers' union says phone ban boosts students' focus, but more action needed CBC News finds that after nearly a year of school cellphone restrictions on Prince Edward Island, teachers notice improved focus and engagement among students, but say lasting results require more family involvement and education about screen time at home.
The Economist | Can AI be trusted in schools? The Economist finds that while AI in schools hasn't outperformed traditional teaching in wealthy countries, a pilot in Nigeria showed remarkable gains for students using AI chatbots—suggesting that, with the right support, AI could be a game-changer for classrooms with limited resources.
EdSurge | Jewél Jackson | School Counselors Worry About Students’ Misguided Use of Social Media EdSurge highlights growing concerns among school counselors about students who are turning to social media for self-diagnosis and emotional support, often without professional guidance. The article underscores the importance of teaching media literacy in schools so that teens can critically evaluate what they see online and distinguish reliable information from misleading or harmful content.
Education Week | Lauraine Langreo | Putting AI to Work in Schools Is Difficult. A New Toolkit Outlines How to Do It Education Week reports that, while some school districts are exploring artificial intelligence, many feel unprepared, prompting Common Sense Media to launch a pragmatic toolkit focused on leadership, staff training, and clear community vision for effective AI use in schools.
EdWeek | Anna Bernstein | Rethinking Tech Frameworks for the Age of AI In EdWeek, Anna Bernstein argues that traditional models like SAMR (Substitution, Augmentation, Modification, Redefinition) are inadequate for evaluating the impact of AI in classrooms, and recommends that educators consider more flexible approaches such as the Triple E Framework (Engagement, Enhancement, Extension) and TPACK (Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge) to meaningfully integrate AI and support deeper student learning.
Engadget | Sarah Fielding | TikTok ripe with mental health misinformation, new study reports Engadget reports that a recent study found more than half of the top TikTok videos under #mentalhealthtips contain misleading or inaccurate information, ranging from pathologizing everyday emotions to promoting treatments that are not evidenced-based. Experts warn that this widespread misinformation may negatively impact users’ mental health, while critics argue that TikTok’s efforts to address the problem remain insufficient.
Fast Company | Sarah Bregel | A third of Gen Z feels ‘pressure’ to become social media creators—and most say their schools encourage it Fast Company highlights a national survey showing that more than a third of recent high school graduates feel pressured to become social media creators—a trend driven by the platforms themselves and increasing encouragement from schools for nontraditional career paths. Despite this push, many young people report feeling unprepared for basic life skills and financial challenges, exposing a gap between digital aspirations and practical real-world readiness.
Futurism | College Grads Furious After an AI Butchers Their Names During Commencement Futurism reveals that the use of AI to announce graduate names at college commencements has led to frustration, with numerous mispronunciations leaving students feeling unrecognized on their special day. Intended to improve accuracy, the automated system often failed, prompting backlash over its impersonal nature and sparking some schools to revert to traditional, human name readers.
Governing | Jessie Van Berkel (Minnesota Star Tribune) | Minnesota’s Mental Health Corps Provides Students With ‘Near-Peer’ Counseling Governing spotlights a new program from Minnesota’s Mental Health Corps that places recent college grads in schools as “near-peer” counselors to support students when professional help is stretched thin—an approach that’s getting positive feedback so far, though some caution more training may be needed.
Inside Philanthropy | Connie Matthiessen | Can Tech Lawsuit Settlement Dollars Back Youth Mental Health? Inside Philanthropy reports that advocates want tech lawsuit settlements to fund afterschool and youth programs, hoping to counteract social media’s harms on young people’s mental health and close gaps for under-resourced families.
Mashable | Chase DiBenedetto | Digital detox for the next generation, from pouches to phone-free proms According to Mashable, the movement to create device-free spaces with things like Yondr pouches is helping young people enjoy face-to-face moments and develop healthier tech habits, though some critics say access and equity issues still need to be ironed out.
Mashable | Chase DiBenedetto | Thinking about a kid-friendly smartphone? Here are your options. Mashable explores the growing market for kid-friendly smartphones, highlighting a variety of devices with different levels of internet access, parental controls, and monitoring features to help parents keep their children safe online. The article notes there is no universal solution, so parents must carefully evaluate options like Bark, Gabb, Pinwheel, Troomi, and even simple "dumb phones" to best support their family's needs and their children’s digital well-being.
NBC Washington | Shawn Yancy | The Friendship Bench uses healing power of grandparents NBC Washington reports on the Friendship Bench initiative, which leverages the life experience and empathy of grandparents to provide free mental health support in underserved communities. In the D.C. area, the program empowers older adults to serve as trusted mentors and listeners, fostering comfort, guidance, and stronger community connections.
The New York Times | Kevin Roose | For Some Recent Graduates, the A.I. Job Apocalypse May Already Be Here The New York Times highlights how new college grads are struggling as AI increasingly takes over entry-level jobs, forcing both youth and employers to rethink what early-career work even looks like—and prompting some young people to pivot quickly into entrepreneurship or tech-savvy specialties.
Parents | Alex Shoemaker | 55% of Caregivers Struggle To Identify Signs of Digital Distress in Teens A survey from El Camino Health highlighted in Parents finds that 55% of caregivers struggle to distinguish digital distress from normal teen behaviors, and experts advise parents to monitor mood changes after screen time, communicate openly, and model healthy tech habits to foster better digital wellness.
Politico | Ruth Reader | The FTC takes on kids online safety Politico shares that since Congress hasn’t nailed down online safety laws for kids, the FTC is stepping up, using its power to push tech companies on child privacy, explicit content, and harmful social media features to better protect young users.
Science Friday | Flora Lichtman, David Adam & Rose Guingrich | What Does It Mean To Have A Chatbot Companion? Science Friday explores our growing relationships with AI chatbot companions in an interview featuring science reporter David Adam and Princeton researcher Rose Guingrich, who discuss both the appeal and the possible mental health risks of turning to digital friends for support.
The 74 Million | Jo Napolitano | AI Makes Quick Gains in Math, But Errors Still Worry Some Eyeing Reliability According to 74 Million, AI tools are quickly reducing student math anxiety and supporting learning, but many educators and experts remain cautious due to frequent mathematical errors and emphasize that robust human-led problem solving and critical thinking remain essential.
USA Today | Rachel Hale | These college kids are swearing off smartphones. It's sparking a movement. USA Today highlights a surprising trend: some college students are swapping their smartphones for old-school flip phones or unplugging more often, saying it helps them feel less anxious and more present in real life.
Vox | Anna North | Do kids need a best friend? Coverage from Vox reveals that while having a best friend can be valuable, both research and real teen experiences show that multiple supportive relationships—not a single “best friend”—are what truly help kids thrive, challenging the pressure to pair off exclusively.
The Washington Post | Clare Morell | Parents can defeat the smartphone epidemic. They can’t do it alone. The Washington Post shows that parents who team up—as “Tech Exit” communities—are pushing back against the pressure to let kids have smartphones, providing real-life alternatives and mutual support that help kids thrive offline and remind everyone that a low-tech childhood is still possible.
Wisconsin Public Radio (WPR) | Amy Bellmore | Adolescent Peer Relationships On Wisconsin Public Radio (WPR), researcher Amy Bellmore describes how social media platforms like TikTok and YouTube now play a major—and often complicated—role in teen friendships and well-being, making it essential for adults to understand both old and new social dynamics to best support adolescents.
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 sixth 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. In this week’s Three for Thriving video recap, we’re highlighting the return of handwritten exams in colleges as a response to concerns about AI-driven cheating, a call from the former U.S. Surgeon General urging Congress to act on social...
