Wellbeing

10 Sep

Posted at 08:30h in Children, Education, Kids, Technology, Wellbeing

AI as an On-Demand Study Partner

For most teens, AI isn’t some mystical oracle—it’s a utility. A helpful assistant. Students use it to generate essay outlines, clarify complex topics, fix grammar, or summarize dense readings. The goal isn’t to cheat or cut corners; it’s to get unstuck. Whether it’s breaking down a math problem, brainstorming ideas, or interpreting a historical text, AI often functions as a just-in-time tutor that helps them keep moving forward.

Some describe it as a kind of “academic sidekick”—always there, never judging, and happy to explain things twice (or 10 times).

Personalization Through Practice

What’s striking is how students make AI work for them in unique, personal ways. One teen might use an AI chatbot to rephrase science notes into simpler terms. Another might ask it to generate flashcards or quiz questions for Spanish class. Yet another might want to “romanticize” their Google Doc with better formatting or more engaging headings—because when the workspace feels good, the work often follows.

These small acts of personalization don’t just make schoolwork easier—they make it more meaningful.

Mobile-First, Multi-Device Workflows

Today’s teen is a multitasking master, and their tech setup reflects that. Most AI interactions begin on mobile phones—especially iPhones—because that’s where their lives happen. Whether it’s using AI to rewrite a sentence while waiting at practice or asking it to explain a homework question at 10 p.m., the phone is often the first point of contact.

But when it comes time to write, edit, or build something bigger, teens switch to laptops or tablets. This cross-device flow is entirely normal for them. AI is just one of several tools they bounce between.

Still Skeptical—and Thoughtfully So

Contrary to fears about over-reliance, many teens are cautious about how they use AI. They don’t blindly accept every output. In fact, students often fact-check, revise, or use AI responses only as a starting point. For them, AI is a draft buddy, not a final authority.

There’s also a cultural layer at play. Some teens are hesitant to use AI openly because they don’t know how their teachers feel about it. School policies on AI use are still evolving, and that uncertainty shapes how confidently students engage with these tools.

AI Helps Solve Teen-Sized Problems

Beyond academics, AI is helping teens manage common challenges: time management, procrastination, and lack of focus. Some students use AI-powered reminders, timers, or summaries to break big tasks into manageable chunks. Others describe how having an organized digital workspace—especially one that’s aesthetically pleasing—helps them feel calmer and more in control.

These aren’t just features; they’re emotional tools. For teens juggling school, sports, part-time jobs, and social lives, AI can offer structure, reduce stress, and create breathing room.

What AI Should—and Shouldn’t Do

As AI becomes more deeply embedded in student life, it’s important to recognize what teens want from it—and what they don’t.

They want:

• Tools that help them learn, not do the work for them.
• Outputs that are accurate, relevant, and easy to revise.
• Design and workflow features that feel modern, responsive, and respectful of their time.

They don’t want:

• AI that talks down to them.
• Overly complex interfaces.
• Black-box decisions or content they can’t trust.

Looking Ahead

The future of AI in education will depend on how well we listen to young users. Teens don’t need flashy gimmicks or false promises. They need smart, thoughtful tools that respect their autonomy, support their learning, and adapt to how they really work.

If AI is going to play a meaningful role in youth development, it has to do more than just give answers. It has to understand how teens think—and help them do that thinking more clearly, more creatively, and more confidently

By Dan Warren, PhD, Director of Youth Development & Education.

03 Sep

Posted at 10:52h in Children, Kids, Meditations, Wellbeing

By Dan Warren, PhD

 

“If you don’t know, now you know.”
-The Notorious B.I.G.

 

 

“Witness the American ideal: The Self‑Made Man. But there is no such person … If, as adults, we can lay claim to competence and compassion, it only means that other human beings have been willing and enabled to commit their competence and compassion to us …”
-The Urie Bronfenbrenner P.H.D.

 

I doubt Urie Bronfenbrenner ever listened to Biggie Smalls. But if he had, I imagine he would have nodded along — not just to the rhythm, but to the deeper truths hidden in Biggie’s stories. Biggie’s lyrics painted a vivid picture of complexity — family struggles, neighborhood pressures, and the larger systemic forces shaping his life and community. Similarly, Bronfenbrenner, a renowned developmental psychologist, created a framework to help us understand how young people grow and thrive within layered, interconnected environments.

 

Unfortunately, when many of us design experiences or create policies for young people, we tend to overlook this complexity. Instead, we often rely on broad generational labels, such as “Gen Z,” to describe large groups of youth. While this practice may seem harmless and convenient, it actually limits our understanding of young people’s true needs and can inadvertently create barriers rather than meaningful engagement.

 

Both Bronfenbrenner’s research and Biggie’s storytelling remind us of an essential truth: real understanding requires looking deeper.

The Limits of Generational Labels

Today, much of our talk about young people is framed in generational terms. Marketers, educators and even policymakers rely on shorthand like “Gen Z” or “Gen Alpha.” These categories offer an easy way to describe broad groups of youth who came of age in a shared historical moment.

 

To be fair, this framing does capture something important: it acknowledges the power of the influence of time and history on development or, as Bronfenbrenner put it, the chronosystem. It reminds us that kids who grew up with smartphones or social media inhabit a different world than kids who didn’t.

 

But the concern is that generational labels stop there. They collapse all the developmental phases within that generation into one big block. A 12-year-old navigating the first steps of adolescence and a 22-year-old entering the workforce may both be “Gen Z,” but their developmental needs, capabilities, and vulnerabilities couldn’t be more different. Relying only on generational categories risks oversimplifying, stereotyping and overlooking the specific supports young people need at each stage.

Bronfenbrenner’s Lens: Seeing the Layers

Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory provides a clearer and more nuanced view. He explains that multiple, interconnected layers of influence shape a child’s development:

 

• Microsystem: Immediate environments, such as family, school or peers. (Think about Biggie’s mother, his close friends in Brooklyn.)

• Mesosystem: Interactions between different microsystems, like the relationship between home life and school experiences. (Biggie struggled with conflicting expectations at school versus the streets.)

• Exosystem: Broader influences like community resources, local economics or media portrayals. (Biggie was deeply influenced by neighborhood conditions and systemic economic pressures.)

• Macrosystem: Societal and cultural beliefs, norms and structures such as racism or expectations about success. (Biggie often criticized these larger societal forces in his music.)

• Chronosystem: The ways experiences and environments change over time. (Biggie’s narratives shifted from youthful experiences toward reflections on adulthood.)

 

This layered approach makes clear why it’s not enough to say “Gen Z is like this.” The historical context matters, yes, but it intersects with family life, community resources, cultural expectations and developmental stage. Bronfenbrenner shows us how these forces work together in real young people’s lives.

Youth Programs Through Different Eyes

Consider an afterschool program serving young people from middle school through early adulthood.

 

• Generational thinking: Program leaders might say, “Gen Z loves tech,” and fill the program with tablets, apps and social media tie-ins. This captures the chronosystem, the reality that today’s youth are digital natives, but it doesn’t account for age-specific needs.

• Developmental thinking: Leaders would design different experiences for different age groups. Younger adolescents might get structured activities that support peer relationships and safe identity exploration. Older youth might be given leadership roles, career mentoring or opportunities to use tech for advocacy and creativity.

• Integrated thinking: The strongest programs do both. They recognize the generational context (digital fluency, cultural touchpoints), but they tailor how that reality is engaged depending on the developmental stage. Tech might be used for collaborative digital storytelling with middle schoolers, while for older youth it might support internships, skill-building or college preparation.

 

This layered approach acknowledges the broad cultural moment while honoring the developmental realities of different ages. The result: programs that are not only relevant, but also developmentally supportive and ethically responsible.

Seeing Clearly Together

Biggie understood something profound: real life isn’t simple. It’s shaped by layers of relationships, environments and systems. Bronfenbrenner shared this understanding, giving us a powerful lens to see beyond surface-level assumptions.

 

If we genuinely care about creating meaningful, supportive experiences for youth, we must move beyond labels and into deeper understanding. Let’s commit to designing, teaching and leading with an awareness of the developmental realities that define young people’s lives.

 

In other words, let’s learn to see youth as clearly as Biggie and Bronfenbrenner did.

And if we didn’t know before — well, now we do.

 

Dan Warren is Director, Youth Development & Education.

This article was originally published in Youth Today, on September 2, 2025.

 

29 Aug

Posted at 09:34h in Children, Content, Kids, Research, Wellbeing

We’ve all seen it, or lived it. A young child is melting down over wanting “just one more minute” with their tablet. Often, all eyes turn to the parent, silently blaming them for a lack of discipline or control. But is that really what’s happening? Is this behavior simply a part of normal child development, or is it shaped, at least in part, by how the app itself is designed?

A compelling new study by Mallawaarachchi et al. (2025) (full text here) argues it’s not an either/or — it’s both. Their research shows how a child’s self-regulation abilities interact with persuasive app design (PD) to influence how easily (or not) the child can disengage from digital play. 

I heard Dr. Mallawaarachchi present this research at the 2025 Digital Media and Developing Minds International Congress last month, and I was intrigued. “Not all children use screens in the same way,” Dr. Mallawaarachchi explained to me during a recent phone call, “but also screens don’t affect all children the same way.” She noted that some children may come to the experience with a kind of differential susceptibility, meaning their temperament, developmental stage, or disposition might make them more likely to get ‘stuck’ in an app.

As a researcher who helps tech companies do better for children, this interplay between a child’s self-regulation and persuasive design really spoke to me. It reinforced why developmental expertise needs to be present at all stages of design, to ensure that products are not only engaging but also developmentally appropriate.

What is Persuasive App Design?

Persuasive design (PD) refers to features in digital apps or games that are intentionally created to keep users (in this case, children) engaged for longer. These features are intended to capture and hold the user’s attention and make it hard to stop. 

Common examples of PD in children’s apps include:

  • Rewards: Getting virtual coins, new characters, or access to new levels as part of the game experience.
  • Main character pressure: The character might frown or look sad if a child stops playing or makes a certain choice.
  • Locked features tied to in-app purchases: Making certain options of the game only available through payment, prompting children to ask for more time or money to continue playing.
  • Pop-up suggestions for other games: Distractions that encourage children to try an app that is similar to what they are already playing.
  • Autoplay or countdown timers: Creating urgency and discouraging natural stopping points.

While some of these features can enhance gameplay and support learning, they are often used to maximize engagement and revenue, sometimes at the expense of child well-being. Mallawaarachchi emphasized that PD is a continuum of features. ”Of course you want it to promote engagement, but if it’s coming at the cost of the users’ agency, if it’s coming at the fact that you don’t have the freedom to choose what to do, and if it’s coming at the cost of the users’ well-being, to me, that’s deceptive.”

The Study in a Nutshell

Mallawaarachchi et al. looked at how persuasive app design (PD) and children’s self-regulation interact to affect their ability to stop playing a tablet game. Self-regulation is a child’s ability to control their attention, emotions, thoughts, and behaviors, even when faced with distractions or impulses. This skill is what helps a child stop a fun game when dinner is ready, or transition calmly from digital play to another activity. This ability develops throughout early childhood and varies among children.

In the experimental study, 3- to 5-year-old children played one of three apps with similar content, each with low, moderate, or high PD. They also considered each child’s own self-regulation score as assessed by two different standardized measures. 

Study Findings

  • Children liked the apps equally, regardless of the number of persuasive design features. This means that app designers don’t need to rely on manipulative features to make apps enjoyable to children.
  • Children with high self-regulation could disengage from any app consistently, regardless of whether the app employed low, moderate, or high PD.
  • Children with low self-regulation disengaged more easily from low-PD apps, but took significantly longer and needed more support when using apps with moderate or high persuasive design.

“If persuasive features override a child’s available strategies and capacities,” Dr. Mallawaarachchi said, “then the child is no longer in control.”

Why it Matters

This study offers key takeaways for both parents and developers. It shows that:

  • Children aren’t drawn to high-PD apps because they’re more fun. They’re drawn in because of design tricks that make stopping harder.
  • App design interacts with a child’s developmental abilities, meaning some children are more vulnerable to persuasive features.
  • The design of the app and the child’s readiness to engage with it are equally important.

The study reveals that persuasive app design doesn’t make apps more appealing, they just make them harder to leave. This knowledge can empower caregivers to make more informed choices about the apps their children use. But it also makes one thing clear: parents shouldn’t have to shoulder this burden alone. Dr. Mallawaarachchi agrees. “One of our key overarching goals in all things we do is really to remove that burden and responsibility from parents and to move it at least a bit more towards other stakeholders like tech companies, their policies, and also the government.”

Shifting Responsibility

I also believe it’s time for a fundamental shift in responsibility. Just as the Children’s Television Act of 1990 rightly restricted character-based advertising during children’s programming, we need similar protections for children in digital spaces today. That means there’s no excuse for developers to keep relying on manipulative features under the guise of “fun.”

If we want a healthier digital world for all children, we can’t just focus on screen limits; we must also focus on screen design. We need to ensure that tech companies are equipped and motivated to do better. This is where my role, sitting at the intersection of developmental research and tech industry practice, becomes especially important. I work with companies that want to do the right thing, but need research-based guidance to get there. I see my job as translating important studies like this into practical insights that help teams design responsibly, before regulation forces them to change.

We also need the voice of children in the design process. I have spoken with hundreds of children in my work. Their opinions, experiences, and ideas are valuable contributions to the development of content made for them and their peers. It’s important that we not only design for them, but with them. Including children in the design process helps ensure the products we build reflect their actual needs, not just assumptions.

To have a real impact, we need:

  • Clearer regulations that limit how many and what kinds of persuasive design elements can appear in apps for children.
  • Industry standards that prioritize developmental needs over monetization, ensuring children’s well-being comes first..
  • Public investment in high-quality digital media for children, setting a higher standard for content development. This investment would demonstrate that it is possible to create engaging, ethical, developmentally-appropriate content to meet children’s needs.
  • Incorporating children’s voices and input from developmental experts to guide tech companies in creating better, more ethical products for young users.

It’s time to stop expecting parents to fight the screen time battles alone. It’s time to design better, together.

By Allison Caplovitz, Director of Content Research and Evaluation.

11 Jun

Posted at 14:29h in Documentary Films, Kids, Wellbeing

The kids are alright. Right?

In 2022, as schools reopened and lockdowns lifted, we sat down with teens navigating the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. Their stories were raw, honest, and deeply human.

Now, in 2025, we’ve followed up. What’s changed? What hasn’t?

This May, for Mental Health Awareness Month, we returned to these young people to hear how their perspectives on life and mental health have evolved. Across a seven-part video series, they speak openly about stress, identity, social media, and the importance of being heard.

Each video explores a different facet of teen wellbeing:

• Teen Wellbeing after the COVID Pandemic — Angelina reflects on how the pandemic shaped her social life, and how those effects linger in college.

• What is Mental Health? — Teens share what mental health means to them, in their own words.

• Pressure — Then and Now — Leah discusses the burden of perfectionism and the power of self-compassion.

• Stepping Back from Social Media — Blake talks about tuning out the noise and reclaiming peace of mind.

• Being Yourself vs. Fitting into a Mold — Zander opens up about peer pressure, self-expression, and identity.

• Advice for Adults — Listen to Your Teens — Teens offer heartfelt advice on how adults can better support them.

• Reflecting on the COVID-19 Pandemic and Looking Ahead — A look at who they were, who they are now, and who they’re becoming.

We invite you to hear directly from them.

Watch the full series on YouTube

10 Oct

Posted at 03:04h in Health, Kids, Wellbeing

In our research with families and children, mental health and wellbeing come up often. The families we work with are often oriented towards addressing the day-to-day logistics and needs within their household. However, parents are constantly reflecting on the broader state of their own wellbeing and that of their children. Likewise, the young people we speak to are not only acutely aware of their own highs and lows, but those of their family members and their household at large.

Children of all ages have a lot on their plates today. More students than ever have aspirations to attend college. Young people’s schedules are packed with extracurricular activities, part-time jobs, family commitments, and social activities. The landscape of opportunities for children to learn, grow, and achieve is ever-increasingly active and competitive. It is no surprise that many of the kids our team works with often talk about experiencing stress from the pressures of school, sports, family, and social expectations.

Across disciplines, scientists and experts have observed increasing rates of reported mental illness in younger populations. This is the reality that all industry sectors have had to reckon with over the past several years and are still learning how to address. The chaos of day-to-day life wears on individuals, as does the mental impact of the various national and global crises that have occurred over the course of the last few years. At Fluent, many of our clients are eager and motivated to design products, services, and strategies that can directly aid parents, teens, and families in navigating stress at all levels.

As a UX researcher working on many of these projects, I have had a direct role in gathering research around mental health-oriented initiatives. As a designer and anthropologist, a few key themes have become clear to me as takeaways that the broader UX and product design world should keep in mind when designing for youth and families. None have become more apparent to me than the restorative and life-giving value of helping individuals connect with their own creativity.

The ability to create and observe the creativity of others has multiple beneficial dimensions, but some of the most important elements include:

1) Creativity is multidirectional, and comes in an infinite amount of forms.

There is no one way to express yourself. Creative pursuits can be individual, but they can also help individuals find community and connect with others. Both the act of creating and consuming works created by others offer individuals the opportunity to experience joy and connection in different ways.

2) Creativity helps individuals express and connect to themselves.

Many of the individuals we speak with talk about how creativity, especially in digital spaces, helps them experiment with who they are, what they value about themselves, and how they want to be known by others. Similarly, finding a piece of art, music, or media that is resonant can be an exciting tool in self-discovery or community building. 

3) Creativity helps individuals alchemize difficult emotions or life experiences by creating pause and facilitating reflection.

During difficult life experiences, many of our participants have talked about turning to art, music, or other creative outlets to give themselves space for reflection and processing time.

Many of these outcomes like multidirectional exploration, positive self expression, and processing difficult emotions, have an overall positive impact on individual mental health and wellbeing. It is no surprise that more and more of our partners and clients across industries are turning to think about how they can support creative expression for individuals. There are a myriad of other ways the mental health crisis in the U.S. can and needs to be addressed. From a product design standpoint, the potential of what can be offered to individuals in terms of creative tools, outlets, forms of engagement, and joy is limitless. Moreover, they may hold the key to making the products and services people use every day more supportive of overall wellbeing.

By Charlotte Beatty, User Experience Researcher

01 Aug

Posted at 14:07h in Children, Content, Wellbeing

As a researcher specializing in media, technology and children, my work is informed by my interest in, and knowledge of, child development. At Fluent Research, we have collaborated with numerous media companies to provide insights into the evolving experiences of children and parents with digital media.

One recurring theme in our research is the desire of both parents and children to limit their screentime, but their inability to do so consistently. This discrepancy in knowledge and practice often stems from parents feeling overwhelmed by the plethora of media choices, and their fear that if they limit screens, their children might feel left out. For kids, the compelling nature of digital content, peer influences, the omnipresence of screens in their daily lives, and the algorithms that feed them more and more content make it extremely challenging to limit their use of digital media.

With the passage of the new Kids Online Safety and Privacy Act in the U.S. Senate this week, we are on our way to implementing some new protections for kids. It’s about time!

This new bill marries two different acts, The Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) and the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) 2.0. Both represent significant legislative efforts aimed at enhancing online safety and privacy for children. As this bill moves closer to passage, it is important to consider its implications.

• Kids Online Safety Act:

– KOSA aims to update and expand protections for children under 17.

– KOSA also provides guardians with more control over platforms, prevents features such as autoplay, and provides for stronger default privacy settings.

• Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule 2.0

– COPPA 2.0, which is an extension of the original COPPA, was enacted in 1998 to regulate the collection of personal information from children under 13.

– This new version of COPPA 2.o would also expand protections for teens.

– The proposed updates in COPPA 2.0 also address targeted advertising, data retention practices, and the need for verifiable parental consent.

– COPPA 2.0 aims to provide stronger safeguards in this new era of media saturation.

The passage of KOSA in the Senate and future passage in the U.S. House of Representatives could mark a significant step forward in protecting children’s digital wellbeing. As someone working every day at the intersection of media, technology, and child development, I believe these legislative measures are long overdue. They not only aim to safeguard privacy but also to foster healthier digital habits among children. By creating a more regulated and child-friendly digital landscape, we can help kids and parents alike navigate the complexities of technology while minimizing potential risks. In this ever-polarized political landscape, we can all come together and agree that our kids are worth protecting!

By Allison Caplovitz, Director, Content Research and Evaluation