March 12, 2026, Commentary by Brenan Hornseth

Negative Impacts on Youth

We are definitely seeing consequences of this technology-driven lifestyle in our children. Gen Z is the first generation to be measured as less cognitively capable than their parents. And the reason is technology, specifically screen time. Around 2013, Sweden and other Nordic countries first noticed a decrease in test scores for reading comprehension, science, and math skills. This trend continued downward for a decade until Sweden made the link to screens in classrooms and announced that, whenever possible, it was switching its classrooms back to traditional textbooks, pens, pencils, and paper.

We should consider taking similar steps here to protect our future generations.

I was recently invited to be a guest at a Seward Rotary Club meeting, where I learned about an ongoing project the Rotary is sponsoring this year for Seward’s schools to provide art journals and replace phone usage for middle school students. It was there that I realized that much of our community does recognize the problem and they are doing something about it, but I think there needs to be more discussion in the community as a whole, because I almost guarantee that the technology problem is much worse than you think.

Social Media Corporations vs. Children

It’s easy to say screens (especially smartphones) are the new smoking. There are definitely some similarities: both are marketed towards kids, both are highly addictive, but the similarities mostly end there. While second-hand smoke is an issue, smoking usually doesn’t cause distracted driving. Parents also don’t hand their kids a pack of cigarettes when they turn 10 or 13 and let their kids start smoking. However, that’s exactly what we are doing with phones. When you hand your kid a smartphone, you are giving billion-dollar corporations a direct line to your kid’s brain.

Facebook has known (from studies they themselves performed) for years that its social media platform is harmful to teenagers, but that is a cost of business they accept, and they are willing to let your kids pay the price. Any social media platform: Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, etc., as well as many modern video games, all suffer from the same problem. The core algorithms for any of these services are scientifically designed to function like slot machines – giving users continual targeted dopamine rushes to keep them engaged. However, unlike slot machines, they are almost completely unregulated. And maybe worse, the access is easier than ever since they are in the hands of everyone, millions of people nationwide and billions worldwide.

There’s a reason the Zuckerbergs and the like do not let their own kids use their own services. And it’s not because their kids are underage (you must be 13 or older to use social media, but that is rarely checked or enforced). It’s actually because they know the harms of the very technology they’ve made their billions on. They understand how malleable young minds are, how easily addictions can be formed in childhood, and how addictions that are formed in childhood are much more likely to remain into adulthood. Just like cigarette companies, they want users who are addicted to their services for life, and they want to spare their own progeny that fate. In a world where many look up to and want to emulate billionaires, we certainly aren’t treating our kids like billionaires do for their own.

In the next part of the series, I’ll discuss ideas that you and we as a community can do to push back.