Raised on AI
2026-08-26 · MIT Technology Review
From Digital Enthusiasm to Digital Restraint
The author describes a sharp change in parenting over time. When his first child was born, he quickly created accounts in her name, announced her birth online, and shared photos widely. In effect, her digital footprint was built before she could even walk.
By the time his second child arrived, he reacted in almost the opposite way. He wanted to protect her privacy, avoid making personal details public, and keep her image from feeding platform algorithms. Eventually, he even went back and removed much of the online footprint he had created for his older daughter.
Why the Shift Happened
The change came from watching the internet evolve from promise to risk:
- The early optimism of online life gave way to visible potential for abuse.
- The author recognized his own smartphone and social media dependence.
- His wife, a pediatric nurse, saw more children in hospital affected by social-media-related harms, including body dysmorphia and cyberbullying.
As a result, they became the kind of parents who gave kids flip phones and kept them off TikTok.
A Broader Cultural Turn
The author argues this is no longer a fringe position. Even many people working in major tech companies reportedly keep their children at a distance from digital platforms:
- Strictly controlled phone access, if phones are allowed at all.
- Limited or no social media participation.
- Even Mark Zuckerberg does not publicly post his children’s faces.
He frames this as a mainstream shift, supported by policy and institutional changes:
- Jonathan Haidt’s 2024 bestseller *The Anxious Generation* pushed the issue into wider public debate, despite criticism from some developmental psychologists.
- Australia passed a social media ban for under-16s, with other countries announcing similar moves.
- The US Supreme Court upheld a Texas age-verification law that functions as a practical restriction.
- School districts across the US are limiting devices like iPads and Chromebooks in favor of physical books.
- Some children themselves appear to embrace tech skepticism, symbolized by renewed interest in vintage devices like the Sony Walkman.
The AI Era: Preparation Over Avoidance
The central argument is that total avoidance is impossible. Technology now permeates everyday life, so children must be prepared for the world that actually exists, not an idealized one.
In that context, the publication collaborated with editors from *Anyway*, a magazine for teens and tweens, and invited young people to describe their views on AI in their own words. Their responses were not simplistic; they were nuanced, thoughtful, and often sophisticated.
A Practical Middle Path
The author has not abandoned caution. He still rarely posts photos of his children and remains deeply concerned about social media and AI risks. But he has loosened restrictions slightly:
- His older daughter moved from a flip phone to an iPhone when she started high school.
- His younger daughter now uses an Apple Watch.
These tools, he says, have expanded opportunities:
- Supporting new friendships.
- Allowing social life to flow between digital and physical spaces.
- Giving children more freedom to move beyond familiar neighborhood boundaries.
His conclusion is modest but clear: children are supposed to test limits as they grow, and parents are learning those limits too. The goal is neither full prohibition nor blind adoption, but ongoing boundary-setting in an AI-shaped world.