The Attentive, Aware, Adaptive, and Inquisitive Generation

Throughout the 2025–2026 school year, we had the opportunity to connect with tens of thousands of youth and teens across Canada through our live interactive virtual presentations. During each session, participants were encouraged to submit questions, and we carefully tracked every one of them. By the end of the school year, youth and teens had asked an impressive 7,167 questions, providing us with some valuable insight into what matters most to them, and the issues they are thinking about.

When we reviewed and analyzed these questions, several clear themes began to emerge. Based on student engagement and the number of upvotes each question received, the top 10 areas of interest centred around:

1/ Hacking, malware, and cybersecurity

2/ Privacy, tracking, and surveillance

3/ Social media platforms

4/ General online safety

5/ Artificial intelligence, deepfakes, and algorithms

6/ Sextortion and intimate images

7/ Law, consent, and reporting

8/ School, employment, and digital reputation

9/ Child sexual abuse material, grooming, and online predators

10/ Pornography and sexual content

What stood out most was not merely the questions youth and teens were asking, but the depth of thought, curiosity, and critical thinking they brought to the conversation.

Much of the current public conversation surrounding young people and technology paints a picture of a generation that is anxious, passive, lost, lonely, manipulated, and unable to navigate the online world without constant adult intervention. Based on our experiences this year, that portrayal did not match what we anecdotally observed. Instead, we encountered a generation that was attentive, aware, adaptive, and deeply inquisitive about the onlife world they inhabit every day.

Far from being the disengaged anxious and addicted “tech zombies”, as some like to portray our kids, the overwhelming majority of youth and teens we spoke with demonstrated a genuine curiosity about how technology works, how information is collected and used, how artificial intelligence operates, how cybercriminals exploit people, and how they can better protect themselves online. Many of the questions they asked reflected a desire to understand the mechanisms behind technology rather than simply consume it, an extremely important difference that we find some adults do not understand!

What was particularly encouraging was the level of critical thinking most students brought to these discussions. Rather than automatically accepting headlines, social media posts, popular narratives, or even the information that we were sharing in our presentations, many wanted to know what the evidence actually showed. They wanted to understand the research, the limitations of the research, and why experts sometimes disagreed with one another.

We frequently observed what could best be described as an “appraising mindset”. Youth and teens were willing to examine multiple viewpoints, question assumptions, challenge conclusions, and weigh competing pieces of evidence before forming an opinion. In many cases, they demonstrated a level of intellectual curiosity that some adults mistakenly assume young people do not possess.

We also noticed that many youth and teens appeared comfortable holding uncertainty. Rather than rushing to judgment, they often adopted an agnostic position until more information was available. They seemed willing to say, “I don’t know enough yet,” or “What does the evidence actually say?” before committing to a particular viewpoint. In today’s increasingly polarized online environment, this may be one of the most important thinking skills a young person can develop.

This observation was especially striking because we believe that critical thinking is one of the most valuable online safety skills we can teach. The ability to evaluate information, identify manipulation, recognize bias, assess evidence, and make informed decisions is foundational to navigating today’s onlife world. Yet many public discussions about youth and technology often begin with the assumption that young people lack these capabilities because of their brain development, and therefore require broad restrictions rather than meaningful education and guidance.

This is not to suggest that youth and teens are immune from mistakes, poor decisions, online harms, or manipulation. Like adults, they are still learning, growing, and developing. However, what we witnessed this year suggests that many young people are far more thoughtful, reflective, and capable than they are often given credit for by many adults.

That said, we did hear genuine concern from many youth and teens, not about social media and technology, rather about the broader world they are inheriting and their place within it.

The first source of anxiety centred on feeling excluded from conversations and decisions that directly affect their onlife world. Many students expressed frustration that adults, policymakers, researchers, advocacy groups, and media commentators frequently debate youth and technology without meaningfully consulting the very young people who are living these experiences every day. Whether discussing social media bans, age verification laws, smartphone restrictions, or artificial intelligence, many students felt their perspectives were often dismissed or ignored. They were not necessarily demanding that adults agree with them, but they did want to be heard. Many youth expressed to us the frustration and anxiety that adults were making decisions about the online spaces they use to socialize, connect, create community, and build friendships without first seeking their input or understanding their experiences.

The second source of anxiety involved their future. Many youth and teens expressed concern about how emerging technologies are being developed, deployed, and monetized. They questioned whether society is adequately considering the long term consequences of artificial intelligence, data collection, automation, surveillance, misinformation, and algorithmic influence. Contrary to the common perception that young people are unconcerned about the future, many of the students we spoke with asked thoughtful and insightful questions about the world they will inherit. Their concerns often centred on issues that directly affect their lives, including employment opportunities, economic stability,  and whether they will one day be able to afford a home of their own. These questions reflected a generation that is paying close attention to the decisions being made today by adults, and how those choices may shape their future tomorrow.

In fact, some of the most thought provoking questions we received this year came from students wondering whether today’s leaders, corporations, and governments are adequately considering the long term impact of technologies being introduced for short term economic, political, or competitive advantages. These questions reflected not apathy, but engagement. Not ignorance, but awareness.

As we reflect on the thousands of questions we received this year, one conclusion stands out. Much of the public conversation assumes that youth and teens are simply consuming technology without questioning it. However, the thousands of questions we received this year paint a very different picture. Many young people are actively thinking about, questioning, and critically examining the onlife world around them. We encountered a generation that is paying attention, asking difficult questions., wanting evidence rather than slogans, nuance rather than absolutes, and meaningful dialogue rather than decisions made for them without their participation or consultation.

Perhaps the lesson for parents, caregivers, educators, and policymakers is not that youth and teens need fewer opportunities to engage with technology. Perhaps the lesson is that they need more opportunities to engage in thoughtful conversations about it with the adults who are making the decisions about how they use it.

If we truly want to prepare youth and teens for the future, the goal cannot simply be to ban their access to technology, the internet, and social media. We must help them develop the critical thinking skills needed to question it, understand it, evaluate it, and ultimately shape it in positive and responsible ways. Based on what we witnessed throughout this school year, many young people are already demonstrating these abilities. Their curiosity, thoughtfulness, and willingness to ask challenging questions give us reason for optimism. Here at The White Hatter, we are grateful for the opportunity to play a small role in supporting that journey.

Digital Food For Thought

The White Hatter

Facts Not Fear, Facts Not Emotions, Enlighten Not Frighten, Know Tech Not No Tech