Imagine an eight-year-old girl scrolling through her tablet. She's not playing an educational game or watching an age-appropriate video. Instead, she's navigating adult-targeted applications like Instagram or TikTok. This scenario plays out daily in homes across America and globally as children increasingly access platforms designed for adults, with algorithms and features that behavioral data scientists have specifically engineered and gamified to maximize engagement, regardless of the cost on mental health.
The statistics paint a disturbing picture. According to a national poll in the USA conducted by the University of Michigan's C.S. Mott Children's Hospital, 32% of parents of children aged 7–9 said their child uses social media apps, and that number rises to 49% for children aged 10–12.
