Acting now
Regulation is advancing globally, but governments need a far stronger evidence base to implement effective safety-by-design standards.
Digital spaces are now the primary environment in which children and young people connect, learn and develop. That is not a future scenario - it is the present reality for a generation. And it carries both opportunity and growing risk.
Yet, the digital environments where children and teens socialise, study and play are evolving faster than our ability to understand or govern them. Young people spend hours every day online, but there is still no clear consensus on how digital technologies, from social media to emerging AI tools, affect their mental health and the evidence base remains fragmented and inconsistent.
At the same time, child and adolescent mental health is worsening globally. An estimated 166 million adolescents live with a mental disorder worldwide, with prevalence rising rapidly from around 8% of 5–9 year-olds to 15% of 10–19 year-olds. Suicide is now the fourth leading cause of death among older teenagers. This is not a problem affecting a small group somewhere else, it is a global crisis.
Meanwhile, the digital landscape is entering a new phase. Generative AI is becoming embedded in everyday platforms and products, with children and teens forming relationships with AI chatbots, and AI-powered toys and companions entering the market. The coming decade is likely to be shaped by the “attachment economy,” as young people develop relationships with AI systems that could displace friends and reshape healthy human connection.
This is the moment to act - not only to prevent harm, but to ensure that technology actively contributes to children’s wellbeing. Regulation is advancing globally, but governments need a far stronger evidence base to implement effective safety-by-design standards. Technology companies need incentive structures, independent evidence and credible partners to make different design choices. And the field needs a coordinated mechanism to build what does not yet exist: the research infrastructure, the standards, and the scaled interventions that can make digital environments genuinely good for children.