Social media versus generative AI: why the appetite for reflection differs so much
If you talk about social media, most parents these days nod along: not too young, not too much, et cetera.
But talk about reflecting on generative AI, and the appetite is much smaller:
- AI? Isn't that a place in the Bible?
- What risks? I'm actually doing great with AI.
- Oh no, you're definitely the type who thinks the-harder-you-make-it-the-more-sound-you-seem.
- We have RefGPT, don't we?
That gave me a moment of reflection again: why do I find this so important? Why do I even put free time into it?
So I did a thought experiment. What if we pretend that we, the parents, still live in the time before AI, about three years ago?
Maybe this happens. Your child:
- makes wonderful use of AI on their own
- knows themselves when it's wise not to use it and when it is
- understands that AI may seem all-knowing but isn't
In short, an exemplary child!
Or, your child:
- chooses a course of study for which there'll hardly be any work in a few years (Dec. 2025, Intermediair)
- prefers, like 25% of young people, to ask sensitive questions to AI rather than to you (Jan. 2026, AIwereld)
- marries a robot (Dec. 2025, Japan) ðĪŠ
- throws privacy-sensitive data into AI (March 2025, University of Toronto)
- is confronted with AI-generated nude images (Save the Children survey, Apr. 2025)
- worries about AI, like more than half of our young people, but can't share that with you (among others Feb. 2024, 4-H research)
- loses skills and becomes dependent (among others 2025, Societies)
With a bit of guidance, the balance tips towards the opportunities and less towards the risks.