Digital Wellbeing

If headlines about smartphones and eating disorders left you feeling guilty, anxious, or questioning your parenting, take a deep breath. Here’s a more nuanced look at what the research actually did—and didn't—find.

What the Data Says About Teens and Chatbots I've been talking to more teens about AI chatbots lately and whew, what I'm hearing is all over the place. From the teen boy who told me he regularly talks to chatbots when anxiety keeps him up at night...to the teen girl who shared how a chatbot kept trying to interpret her depressive episodes through a lens of the supernatural...to the teen who used chatbots to respond to arguments with her family and the teen who used it to write

Simple shifts in adult perspectives can change how families talk about digital life — together.

The gap between what teens need and what adults keep offering

Why Nuance Matters in Digital Wellbeing Research

Why counting and restriction miss the bigger picture, and what routines offer instead

In systems optimized for constant use, developmental vulnerability becomes a resource rather than a condition to be protected.

The Grok controversy reveals how generative AI platform design can produce harm, raising urgent questions about youth safety and responsibility.