Digital technologies have advanced more rapidly than any innovation in humanity’s history, penetrating and connecting nearly every aspect of society. These developments have potential to bring tremendous benefit to society—from ending extreme poverty, to improving health outcomes, to promoting sustainable farming and work, to extending and enhancing education, to drawing the peoples of the world together and enriching the human experience. But they have also shown to have contributed to a host of mounting issues including an increase in anxiety and depression, to an erosion of privacy and security, to increasing inequality and social fragmentation, and to undermining human dignity and honor. Addressing these concerns requires more than promoting digital literacy, which tends to assume that these technologies are inherently beneficial and the only question is how to use them well.

We are working alongside young people, their families and communities and in collaboration with other youth- and community-serving organizations to understand and document the influence of digital technologies and to learn how to strengthen digital agency among young people and their families. Such agency requires an understanding of technologies, an ability to analyze its impact, and the will to decide consciously and conscientious whether and how to use them.