Four Realities Facing Kids and Families in 2024 – and How to Change Them
From advocating for regulation of social media and AI development to protecting kids' online privacy, Common Sense is committed to putting kids and families first this election year.
This January, we hosted the inaugural Common Sense Summit on America's Kids and Families, a first-of-its-kind national convening of child advocates, policymakers, researchers, and community leaders, brought together to consider a core question: What would it look like to put kids and families first in 2024? Our summit featured a speaker lineup of experts and community voices who articulated the top issues facing young people in this crucial election year—and the most promising solutions.
A critical component of the summit program was to address the impact of media and technology on kids' well-being, which is central to all of our work at Common Sense Media. Here are a few themes we heard at the summit that will drive our advocacy agenda forward this year and beyond:
The youth mental health crisis is both helped and hurt by social media.
Social media platforms have become an integral part of young people's lives, offering both potential benefits and risks to their mental well-being. According to speaker Dr. Laura Erickson-Schroth, chief medical officer at the Jed Foundation, "Social media platforms can help reduce feelings of isolation and loneliness, particularly among marginalized and underserved youth, by providing opportunities for online connections and support."
However, excessive use and exposure to negative content can significantly contribute to youth mental health challenges. "When kids are spending on average three or more hours a day on social media, those kids face double the risk of anxiety and depression symptoms," U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy said during his session at the summit.
Our own research at Common Sense supports both of these perspectives. Kids' relationships with social media are complicated, but the negative impact it can have on kids who are already struggling—and the lack of action by platforms themselves—means change needs to happen.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta put it bluntly: "We are in a state of emergency. We can't turn away from where we are when it comes to the many challenges our children are facing online … it needs to change, and there are ways to change it."
At Common Sense, we've been using our Healthy Young Minds campaign to convene conversations, complete research, and elevate young people's voices with the goal of finding real solutions to the youth mental health crisis—and that includes government regulation.
The government needs to take action against harmful social media practices that the industry refuses to change.
Conversations at the summit reflected what we know from our years of advocacy at Common Sense: Big Tech won't self-regulate, so the government must take action to keep kids safe online. Former Facebook employee turned whistleblower Frances Haugen said, "Platforms have shown over and over again that they act not to optimize for safety, but for optimizing profits. If we don't act, if we don't mandate transparency, we should not expect our kids to have safe experiences."
The good news is there is more momentum than ever at both the state and the federal level to force the industry to finally put kids' safety first. We at Common Sense are working in support of specific legislation at both levels. New York and California have introduced bills that will help curb addictive features on platforms. And at the federal level, there are now more than 60 bipartisan sponsors of the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) in the Senate.
AI has the potential to transform all of our lives, and we must center kids in shaping the future of this powerful technology.
At the dawn of social media, our government and society at large failed to meet the moment and didn't consider its impact on children. At the summit, the conversation zeroed in on the transformative impact of artificial intelligence on all aspects of our lives, and how we can do better by kids in the age of AI.
Sal Khan, founder of Khan Academy, shone a spotlight on AI's potential to transform education, including personalized tutoring, improvements in teacher efficiency, and equitable access to quality learning experiences.
Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, emphasized the importance of teaching children how to use AI effectively, saying: "This is how we continue to level up society. We build tools that let us see further, do more, and to not teach people how to use those would be a big mistake." He also expressed concerns that AI's enhanced capabilities could lead to more sophisticated deepfakes and misinformation.
We share this belief in the power and potential of AI—and a commitment to advocating on behalf of kids in this new era. That's why we launched the first-ever AI ratings and review system last year. But we're also supporting the California AI Accountability Act, which will ensure consumer protections while AI continues to innovate. And our ongoing research continues to help lawmakers understand the issue and make good decisions.
Online privacy laws need to be updated so they provide real protection for young people.
Speakers at the summit emphasized the need for updating privacy laws to provide real protection for children online. As we know well, online platforms have become so powerful because of the troves of data they amass and use to amplify addictive and harmful content to young users. In a conversation on kids' online safety, FCC Chair Jessica Rosenwercel said, "It is astonishing to me how little we know about what our algorithms deliver to us and to our children."
Current legislation does not protect kids and teens on today's internet, and stronger data privacy protections for minors are the first step toward making the internet healthier and safer for young users. We are supporting bills in both New York and Maryland that will protect kids' online privacy, as well as COPPA 2.0, the updated Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, at the federal level.
Entering a transformative year
The summit only reinforced how important this year and the forthcoming election will be to building a safe, healthy, and equitable future for kids and families. At Common Sense, we're committed to capitalizing on the momentum we're feeling and seeing right now to make these takeaways a reality.
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