Childhood before constant digital and AI exposure

When I was growing up, boredom was unavoidable. There was no phone to reach for, no algorithm waiting to entertain me. If I wanted something to do, I had to make it happen myself.

That usually meant trying things and being bad at them. Painting without knowing what I was doing. Writing poems that never made sense. Attempting karate moves I had only seen once. None of it was polished, efficient, or impressive. But it was mine. Those moments of effort, frustration, and curiosity were not just ways to pass time. They were how my brain learned to think, imagine, and persist.

Today, childhood looks very different.

Many children now spend their free time watching other people do things instead of doing them themselves. Instead of picking up a paintbrush, they watch someone paint on TikTok. Instead of inventing a game, they scroll through short videos designed to keep their attention for as long as possible.

The result is a generation that is constantly stimulated but increasingly disconnected from effort, patience, and deep focus.

The scale of screen time in the UK

According to Ofcom, children aged 8 to 17 in the UK spend between two and five hours online every day. Nearly every child over the age of 12 now owns a mobile phone, and video consumption on platforms like YouTube and TikTok is almost universal.

What is more striking is how normal this feels. Many children believe being online is good for their mental health. In isolation, that belief makes sense. Online spaces offer entertainment, social connection, and distraction.

But belief does not always reflect impact.

At the same time, the Children’s Commissioner has reported that half of 13-year-olds surveyed had been exposed to hardcore, misogynistic age-inappropriate content via social media platforms. This exposure often happens accidentally, driven by recommendation systems rather than deliberate searching.

The online world does not distinguish between adults and children nearly as well as we assume.

AI is already embedded in childhood

While smartphones and social media have been shaping childhood for over a decade, artificial intelligence represents a new and more powerful shift.

Research shows that 64% of children are already using AI chatbots, not only for homework, but also for emotional advice and companionship. Many of these children treat AI responses as authoritative, neutral, or even caring.

The problem is not that AI exists. The problem is that children lack the context, judgement, and emotional maturity to understand what AI is and what it is not.

AI does not understand truth, ethics, or consequence. It predicts language. For adults, that distinction matters. For children, it is almost invisible.

Why early access to AI changes how children think

Every major technological shift has changed how we define literacy. Writing once transformed memory. Print transformed access to knowledge. The internet transformed information discovery. AI is transforming thinking itself.

Developments in AI have spotlighted issues around academic integrity, critical thinking and intrinsic motivation to learn. Studies show that while many young people who use generative AI say they add their own thoughts and check outputs, 1 in 4 do not interact with these tools in a critical and creative way.

The potential impact of generative AI, including tools such as ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Midjourney and Sora, is of particular interest to those working in the creative industries and education.

This is not laziness. It is design. AI tools are built to reduce friction. Childhood, however, requires friction to develop.

Creativity is built through struggle, not speed

Creativity is often misunderstood as talent. In reality, it is a process that involves uncertainty, failure, and revision.

To understand what’s really happening in schools, questions about generative AI were added to national literacy surveys in 2023 and 2024. This gave researchers a clearer picture of how children and teachers across the UK feel about using AI for learning, how confident they are with it, and how it’s starting to shape literacy in everyday classrooms.

When children create something from scratch, they face resistance. Ideas do not come easily. Execution is imperfect. Progress is slow. That resistance is where creativity forms.

AI removes much of that resistance. It generates instantly. It fills gaps. It smooths edges.

Over time, children may still produce content, but they lose the experience of creating it.

This difference shows up later in life. Data from the film industry shows that the average age of top Hollywood screenwriters has increased over time, rising from around 47 in 2014 to over 50 by 2023.

This is not about age discrimination. It reflects something deeper: meaningful stories require lived experience, emotional depth, and patience.

Children raised on short-form content can be excellent at producing quick clips. But long-form thinking — whether in writing, problem-solving, or relationships — requires focus that constant stimulation erodes.

Academic integrity and motivation

AI has also forced difficult conversations about academic integrity. When answers are instantly available, the motivation to explore, question, and understand can weaken.

Research into AI use in education shows that while many young people add their own thoughts and check outputs, a significant portion do not. They use AI as a shortcut rather than a tool.

This matters because learning is not about answers. It is about forming mental pathways. When children bypass those pathways too often, development slows.

The concern is not cheating, but over-reliance on technology.

Mental health risks and adult content

One of the most serious risks of early smartphone and AI use is exposure to adult material.

AI companies are beginning to release adult-oriented tools, including chatbots and image generators with explicit content. While these tools are nominally restricted to adults, enforcement is weak.

Some AI platforms are also moving into explicitly adult territory. Reports indicate that [ChatGPT plans to introduce an adults-only version that allows explicit content] (https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2025/10/14/chatgpt-to-allow-ai-porn-for-over-18s/), with fewer restrictions than its current model. While these tools are intended for over-18s, there is no guarantee that children won’t gain access through shared or unsupervised devices.

This year, a similar shift was seen with Elon Musk’s AI platform Grok, which introduced an AI companion capable of generating adult images and videos. Together, these developments highlight how quickly AI tools are expanding beyond general use, raising new concerns about how easily explicit content could reach younger users.

Children regularly access their parents' devices. Age gates are easy to bypass. There is no guarantee that children will not encounter explicit AI-generated material.

Social media platforms compound this risk. Investigations have shown that Instagram can recommend sexualised content to accounts registered to 13-year-olds within minutes of sign-up.

The UK’s Online Safety Act has introduced stronger age verification requirements, which lead to the UK's most visited website for adult content and it experienced a 47% decrease in traffic between 24 July, one day before the new rules came into place, and 8 August, according to Similarweb's data. But charities like the NSPCC warn that private messaging apps and encrypted services still pose significant risks.

Australia has moved ahead with a nationwide ban on social media use for children under 16, marking one of the strongest regulatory steps taken anywhere in the world.

The decision has put global attention on the issue, with countries including Denmark, France, Malaysia, and Norway actively reviewing or exploring their own age-based restrictions.

What happens next in Australia is being closely watched, as governments weigh how to protect children’s wellbeing in an increasingly digital world.

Technology moves faster than regulation. Children are left navigating the gap.

This is not about banning technology

It is important to be clear: this is not an argument against technology or AI.

Over the past several years, educators have produced a seemingly endless string of task force reports, policy statements, op-eds, and other forms of hand-wringing about the role of AI in writing. But few have recognized what is abundantly obvious to pretty much everyone under the age of 25 that today’s young people will inhabit a future where the vast majority of writing will be produced using AI.

According to the National Literacy Trust, many young people used AI to improve their writing, with 2 in 5 using it to find better words to use and 1 in 3 to check spelling, punctuation and grammar.

Even today, many children use AI to improve spelling, grammar, and vocabulary. For those who already enjoy writing, AI can be a creative partner. For those who struggle, it can offer accessible support.

The issue is timing.

Introducing powerful tools before foundational skills are formed changes how those skills develop.

What healthy AI use actually looks like

Healthy AI use requires strong literacy skills. It requires the ability to question outputs, verify information, add original thought, and understand ethical boundaries.

These abilities do not appear automatically. They are built through reading, writing, discussion, and reflection. Without those foundations, AI becomes a replacement rather than an enhancement.

That is why many education experts argue for clearer guidance, ethical boundaries, and teacher support around AI use in schools. Children are already using these tools. The absence of structure makes misuse more likely.

The forgotten role of physical activity

As digital tools become more immersive, physical activity quietly disappears.

The rise of AI-powered devices, social media, and virtual entertainment has significantly reduced the amount of physical activity people engage in. Many jobs are desk-based, children prefer gaming over outdoor play, and people often choose binge-watching over exercise. This lack of movement has severe consequences, including an increased risk of obesity, heart disease, and other lifestyle-related illnesses.

Children sit more, move less, and spend increasing amounts of time indoors. This has clear physical consequences, including higher risks of obesity, heart disease, and posture problems.

But the mental consequences are just as serious. Physical activity improves focus, sleep, and emotional regulation. Exercise releases endorphins, reduces stress hormones, and supports cognitive development.

In a world of constant mental stimulation, movement provides balance.

Sports build what screens cannot

Sports teach lessons that technology cannot replicate.

Participating in sports counteracts these risks. Whether it’s football, tennis, running, or swimming, regular physical activity strengthens the heart, improves lung capacity, builds muscle, and enhances overall fitness. It also boosts the immune system, reducing the likelihood of illness and chronic disease.

Team sports build communication, cooperation, and belonging. Individual sports build discipline, resilience, and self-awareness. Children learn how to lose, how to improve, and how to support others. These experiences shape confidence in ways no digital platform can.

At a time when loneliness is rising despite constant online connection, real-world social experiences matter more than ever.

Mental health, stress, and resilience

The modern digital environment exposes children to constant comparison, information overload, and social pressure.

Physical activity offers a natural counterbalance. It improves mood, reduces anxiety, and enhances self-esteem.

Exercise has been shown to improve memory, focus, and problem-solving. It provides an outlet for stress and frustration that does not involve screens.

A national responsibility

The UK government has recognised the importance of physical activity, setting targets to increase participation among both adults and children by 2030.

Rt Hon Lucy Frazer KC MP, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport said: “My ambitions are to make it easier for people to get physically active, and ensure the sport sector can thrive in the years ahead. To achieve this we need to be unapologetically ambitious, and that is why by 2030 we want to see 2.5 million more adults and 1 million more children being classed as active in England.”

This reflects a growing understanding that health, education, and wellbeing are deeply connected.

Encouraging delayed smartphone use, moderated AI exposure, and active lifestyles is not about resisting progress. It is about shaping it responsibly.

So what should change?

The solution does not require extreme measures.

Children do not need unlimited access to smartphones or AI tools at a young age. They need boundaries, guidance, and time. Technology should be introduced gradually, with clear expectations. AI should support learning, not replace it. Screens should complement real life, not dominate it. Ultimately, responsibility sits with parents. Setting boundaries means not giving in to pressure from children, peers, or school culture, even when it feels difficult.

Most importantly, childhood should not be rushed.

Let childhood do its work

Children will enter an AI-shaped world whether we like it or not. Our responsibility is to ensure they arrive there capable, confident, emotionally intelligent, and grounded, with empathy and human connection shaping how they grow — a principle central to Eequ’s work with children and families.

Delaying smartphones and AI does not disadvantage children. It protects the skills they will need to use these tools wisely later.

Technology will always be there, childhood will not.