Books such as Jonathan Haidt’s The Anxious Generation and Jared Cooney Horvath’s The Digital Delusion are prompting important conversations about technology, childhood, learning, sleep, attention, and mental health.

I believe we need to take those concerns seriously. I also believe we need to be careful about treating every use of technology as if it were the same.

There is a real difference between an educator intentionally choosing a digital tool to support a learning goal and a young person entering an online environment without preparation, purpose, or guidance. Thoughtful classroom use includes a clear objective, appropriate content, adult support, and an honest assessment of whether the technology improved learning.

That does not mean technology is automatically beneficial because it is used at school. We still need to ask whether it is the right tool, what value it adds, and what it may be replacing. Technology use outside school is not automatically harmful either. Young people use digital spaces to create, learn, connect, and find communities that may not otherwise be available to them.

Research supports this more nuanced view. The American Academy of Pediatrics explains that the effects of digital media depend on what is used, how it is used, and the needs of the individual child. The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine found that social media can provide connection and support while also presenting risks to sleep, attention, safety, and well-being.

I keep coming back to an analogy about camping.

We would not send children into the wilderness without preparation. Organizations such as Girl Scouts and Scouting America teach young people how to read a map, prepare for changing weather, recognize hazards, protect the environment, and ask for help. Experienced adults provide guidance and gradually offer more independence as young people develop the skills to manage it.

Why would we approach the digital world differently?

We cannot hand young people powerful devices, social platforms, and artificial intelligence tools and expect them to navigate every risk alone. They need to learn how to protect their privacy, recognize manipulation, evaluate information, question AI-generated answers, establish boundaries, and ask for help. That's why, one of my personal favorite new Spotlight Communities developing is Media Literacy that brings educators together to help students confidently access, analyze, evaluate, create, and act across all forms of communication. Its purpose is captured in four words: Think critically. Create responsibly.

UNESCO’s guidance for generative AI in education calls for human-centered, age-appropriate use that protects privacy, equity, and human agency. These are not simply technology issues. They are educational responsibilities.

Educators need places to work through these questions together. IDEA’s Spotlight Communities are designed to bring educators together around shared interests, roles, experiences, and challenges. They give us a place to examine the research, share classroom practices, learn from one another, and acknowledge when we do not yet have all the answers.

I do not believe the answer is to pretend the digital wilderness does not exist. Our responsibility is to prepare young people to enter it with knowledge, judgment, support, and the confidence to know when it is time to step away. Through my own experiences and the stories people have shared with me, I have seen technology at its very best and its absolute worst. The greatest risks emerge when young people are left to navigate digital spaces without support at school, guidance at home, or trusted adults they can turn to. MY belief has only grown stronger. Students are more likely to benefit from technology when caring adults are learning alongside them, guiding their choices, and helping them recognize and respond to risks.

This is work we must do together. We need to connect around the challenge, grow in our understanding, share what we learn, and inspire healthier possibilities for every student.

- Executive Director Scott Meech