After over a year of exploring the latest headlines on kids and technology, we’re wrapping up this series to focus on new ways to help parents stay informed and empowered. Thanks for following along as we navigated these important tech trends together!
Tech is changing how kids learn, write, and even think — and parents need to know what’s happening. From AI in classrooms to new challenges with digital devices, here are this week’s headlines.
Insta Fail: Teen Safety Setting Don’t Work as Promised
Instagram claims its Teen Accounts protect kids by default, but independent tests by Gen Z users and a tech columnist found rampant exposure to sex, drugs, and toxic content.
The app’s algorithmic recommendations consistently undermined its own safeguards, raising urgent questions about Meta’s accountability — and Congress’s next steps.
Gen Z users and a dad tested Instagram Teen Accounts. Their feeds were shocking. | The Washington Post
TikTok Tells Teens It’s Time to Sleep
TikTok is rolling out in-app guided meditation, aimed at improving sleep and reducing late-night scrolling.
Teens will see wind-down prompts after 10 p.m., with meditation auto-enabled. Adults can opt in via settings.
TikTok rolls out a new meditation feature to help you get off the app and sleep | Tech Crunch
Teen Feeds Filled With Violence and Despair — In Minutes
A BBC experiment using fake teen accounts found kids were exposed to violent, sexual, and disturbing content within minutes on TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram.
Despite safety settings, profiles saw posts about suicide, weapons, and abuse — raising concerns about how quickly harmful content reaches young users through algorithms.
Teens exposed to social media posts about violence and suicide | BBC
The Screen-Time Rule Jonathan Haidt Wishes He’d Made Sooner
Psychologist and author of The Anxious Generation, Jonathan Haidt, says his biggest parenting regret was allowing screens in his kids’ bedrooms.
He now urges families to keep tech use in shared spaces, where it can be supervised.
This advice echoes research showing kids benefit most when screens are used openly and with parental involvement.
The Future of Search Starts Now
Google is revamping its search engine with “A.I. Mode,” a chatbot-like tool enabling conversational queries and smarter results.
The move aims to outpace rivals like ChatGPT and reshape how people interact with information.
The update includes new Gemini-powered tools, smart replies, shopping bots, and even prototype A.I. glasses.
Google Unveils A.I. Chatbot, Signaling a New Era for Search | The New York Times
Students vs. AI Detectors
Students are running their own essays through AI detectors — not to cheat, but to prove they didn’t.
As teachers crack down on AI-assisted writing, students are rewriting human-crafted work to avoid false flags.
With grammar tools and formal language under suspicion, even honest students feel like they’re navigating a digital writing police state.
Students Are Humaning Their Writing — By Putting It Through AI | The Wall Street Journal
Teacher Quits Over Tech-Addicted Teens
A frustrated high school English teacher quit, blaming AI and iPads for plummeting literacy and student apathy.
In a viral video, Hannah Maria slammed tech’s role in shrinking attention spans and increasing reliance on tools like ChatGPT.
She urged schools to ditch devices and return to textbooks — before another generation loses interest in learning.
Teacher reveals why she’s quitting on her students: ‘I don’t really have faith in some of these kids’ | New York Post
Other Headlines
- Why Are There So Many ‘Alternative Devices’ All of a Sudden? | The Atlantic
- ’Shouldn’t we be eliminating that?’ | Kids access inappropriate pics, shooter game on school tablet | WCNC
- How Miami Schools Are Leading 100.000 Students Into the A.I. Future | The New York Times
Did we miss anything?
Any other important tech news from this week? Let us know in the comments below.
Author Jackie Baucom
Jackie is a Gabb staff writer. She is the mother of four children and is passionate about keeping kids safe, happy, loved, and thriving. She has a degree in Mass Communication from the University of Utah.
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