Digital age’s impact kids’ social skills

Our kids are growing up in *** world much different than the one we grew up in. iPads, iPhones, Snapchat, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, no matter if they are 5 or 15, kids will devour as much as they are allowed to consume, and that is often not *** good thing. Every time someone looks at *** phone or *** kid looks at *** phone, there’s potential bullying right there in their face. Cyber bullying, grooming, sextortion, there’s real risks here and then there’s the other worries anxiety, depression, isolation. Our kids are experiencing *** childhood that is increasingly online and us parents are just trying to figure it all out on the fly. Good morning. Thank you so much for joining us here for Oklahoma Chronicle. I’m Evan Onstadt. This week we are dedicating the whole program to the challenges of raising kids in this digital age, and we’re beginning here with our panel. It’s, it’s *** very good one. We have Edmond State Senator Kristen Thompson here with us, pediatric psychologist Daniel Geering, as well as pediatrician Casey Hester. Thanks so much all of you for being here. We appreciate it. So it it’s interesting because I feel like we could tackle this conversation in so many different ways, right? That there’s there’s the, the, the ways that our workplaces you as doctors and as legislators can approach it and also we’re all parents here and so we can do that and Senator with that said I I wanted to start with you here. Because I want to know how much, you know, you’ve voted on bills dealing with phones with kids, with social media and kids. You’ve written legislation here and how much of your experience as *** parent. And how much of your worldview that comes from that drives what you are doing as *** lawmaker? Yeah, absolutely, especially in this space with our kids, it’s something I’m living every day and so I know if I’m struggling with it in my home, other Oklahoma families are struggling with it as well. And so seeing just the ripple effects of what my kids look like after they’ve been on their devices, um, what taking that away from them looks like, right? We know that *** lot of times, especially with our littles, they have ADHD like reactions after they. Have been on tablets for *** while and so managing this within my own home absolutely shapes the way I address policy, you know, we did pass the cell phone ban this year um and so far we’re, you know, two weeks into school. The response has been overwhelmingly positive, um, not only from districts and educators but even from kids and, and their parents and so, um, being *** mom and living that is very, very important when I am addressing things through legislation, you know. Interesting because I, I have *** friend who has *** daughter, *** 9th grader, um, was talking to the Spanish teacher, I guess the Spanish teacher said I can see *** difference so far this year in the way that kids are having attention that that that people are paying attention now in class more and they think it’s because of uh of the cell phone ban and obviously we’re not gonna talk entirely about that because when it comes to raising kids and all that, you know, at school is one issue and then at home is is the. Other issue we all, we all have all have kids really quick, just throw out how old your children are. I have two girls, 21 and 24. OK, so you’ve been through it. I’ve been through it and maybe still going through it. It’s still going through it, absolutely, yes, Daniel, what about you? I have *** 6 year old and my wife is 35 weeks pregnant, so about to have *** number 2. All right, all right, congratulations. Congratulations. That’s great. Um, I’ve got *** 7 year old, *** 13-year-old, and *** 14 year old, so we are in it. You are very much in it and you know and and and my kids are in the 4th and 2nd grade as well. It’s, it’s so you know I mean we are about to be reaching these types of things. Yeah, let me talk to the doctors here and either one of you can jump in and then we can just kind of go from there. Uh, what are you seeing in the research and the literature on, on where we’re at right now and the impacts that all the screens and the social media and, and everything is having. Oh yeah, I’ll jump in um so as far as social emotional development as far as um how kids are using them earlier and earlier, all devices all screens all the time, um, like you said, I grew up in *** world where I tell my niece and nephew that I didn’t get my cell phone until I was 16 and they are horrified. And how did you talk to your friends? How did you communicate so so much ask me how old I was. That’s it, and I was, yeah, I was *** lot older. I, I was lucky and but it was, that was the norm. But now because technology grows exponentially, it, it’s, we’re constantly behind the curve. We are humans we think in *** linear fashion, but technology goes much faster than that and so. What we know is that we’re kind of constantly putting out fires we didn’t know where fires yesterday but we wake up and it’s already tomorrow that’s true and so that’s it’s already burning and it’s already something else we need to get ahead of before it’s *** problem for the next problem and so when it comes to social development, we learn *** lot kids learn by observing and learning how to read *** room can’t happen through *** screen. There’s this social disinhibition that happens as you get older too, where you are. Much freer online than you would be in person, uh, you’re much more likely to send *** nasty tweet or to say something mean or text or send an email that you wouldn’t say in person, but you don’t get to watch the other person kind of crumple and go, oh, that didn’t feel good and then you learn that way but even younger kids are not having that exposure if we’re communicating purely digitally, right? I mean, Senator, we were just talking that that you’re talking to business leaders who say that you know these, these young people are coming in and they don’t know how to talk to. Yeah, that’s right, um, you know, we have, uh, *** small business here in Oklahoma City and we are seeing our our young people, our our newly graduated, uh, students, they’re losing their soft skills. They don’t know how to look someone in the eye. They don’t know how to hold *** conversation and it’s because we are in *** digital age where we’re inherently on *** screen and we don’t know how to read each other. We do, we’re, we’ve lost the ability to really truly interact and in any industry, right, interpersonal skills are so incredibly important and we are seeing. The loss of those Casey, as *** pediatrician, you have conversation with with parents about, I mean, everything I’m sure how every day are you talking about screens with with your clients every single day, every day, almost every single family, and no matter the age, no matter the age, it’s that important, you know, you asked about the research and there’s, there’s some fairly compelling research in young infants that it can sort of stunt their development um. Because they aren’t getting that one on one, right? And so we, we know it’s pretty clear in the less than 2 years and, and most people, you know, sort of follow the recommendations of trying to limit screen time in those younger ages but with the older ages the data is *** little bit more mixed and so what we see is it’s not all black and white, right? So there are some advantages. To letting kids have access to digital media and screens, but the key is really parents have got to be involved. OK, like in what way? I mean they, they need to be watching these things with their kids or just being aware of what’s on their phone, the media they’re they’re consuming the social media they’re consuming. Yes, the answer is yes to all of that. So parents really need to be involved from. The moment one. So if you’re gonna have *** screen on in front of your toddler, definitely parents need to be watching that and interacting at the same time. So maybe uh *** toddler is watching *** show. And the parent isn’t just sitting there, they’re actively, what do you see? you know what color is that? Let’s sing the song together and that goes all the way up to parental controls on kids’ phones and tablets when they get into middle school age, um, grade school, whatever age parents decide to introduce that. You know, one of the things that I’m not looking forward to because my kids are still young, *** cell phone is out of order. They trust me, they’ve asked. You know, and I told them no, you know, you guys are way too young, but eventually there’s gonna come *** time in which they’re going to want *** cell phone, their friends are going to have cell phones, and I’m not going to want to give them *** cell phone, let alone social media access, and I’m, I’m wondering how many parents out there are dealing with that because you’re right in the thick of it right now, Senator. Yeah, so the social pressure is overwhelming that’s everything, yes, I mean, even as *** mom, you know, we held off for as long as we could. Um, and when they get to the age where they start staying home by themselves, you know, I actually looked into getting *** landline. Did you know that those are quite expensive these days because they’re so antiquated, um, so we, we got *** phone and it, it was just *** tidal wave of just monitoring and concern and then it’s all of the social pressures you can line up 25 kids and you can tell the kids who have phones and you can tell the. Kids who are on social media, you just can’t, um, I see it in my kids. I see it in their friends and so we actually had *** pact with *** group of families that we were like we’re not doing phones until this we’re not doing social media until this because you have to have *** support group. Do you, do you mind telling me what what this was as far as yeah, it was just we’re, yeah, so up through middle school, so 6th grade was really when, um, I think some of the kids started getting phones looking back now completely. honest with everyone, I wish I would have waited. I wish we still would have done *** flip phone. We have other options, um, but making sure that we’re in alignment with our friends and our friends fam the, you know, their families, because it takes us all rowing in the same direction and it’s so hard. It’s hard, it is so hard because the last thing we want is our kids to feel like we don’t want our kids to be the, the, the lone one out or anything like that. So you had teenagers. Going through really when when when the social media was exploding so this all happened when your kids they’re in their early twenties now so when they were teenagers was and I would do it wild wild west and I would do it very differently now than I did it then I would have much more control so my girls got their cell phones earlier than I would have done it now. I would say no cell phone probably before 13. My ideal would be 16. There’s kind of *** national. Movement wait for 8th, meaning 8th grade um and then from there for the younger kids because everybody always says well I want to know where my kids are. I want to be able to follow them. I want them to be able to contact me after softball practice. We are in the tracking I think we are in the tracking generation and fortunately technology is, is catching up and so now there are different proprietary watches and things that really just have GPS. The kids can only call. People and so looking into those kind of products is *** nice option for many families. It doesn’t have to be the latest iPhone that you get your kids. There are things and and steps in between and and so I’ll, I’ll just as we wrap up this conversation and we’re gonna have more conversations online just so you know like *** web only content that you can look for on our on our YouTube page and on our on on our on our website, um, but Daniel, you have *** baby on the way as you said, are you hopeful that by the time. Your young baby becomes like *** teenager that all this is kind of figured out and do you think that could happen figured out is is *** *** hope sure we’ll call it hope um I I think we’re becoming more aware as *** people of kind of the benefits and the dangers. I don’t want to demonize all technology. Is bad, but we are learning that it impacts so much. It’s gone from *** luxury to *** necessity of everyday life and where we can kind of put those limits up is is an ongoing conversation and I think it, it always will be. So well it’s *** conversation that we can continue to have for *** long time. I want to thank all three of you for being here today.

Oklahoma Chronicle: How has the digital age impacted kids’ in-person social skills?

On the latest edition of Oklahoma Chronicle with Evan Onstot, we speak with a panel of experts about the issues children and parents face

Updated: 10:30 AM CST Nov 30, 2025

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Our children are growing up in a world much different than the one in which previous generations grew up. >> Download the KOCO 5 App | Subscribe to KOCO 5’s YouTube channel | Sign up for KOCO 5’s Morning NewsletterThey have iPads, iPhones, Snapchat, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, and a slew of other social media platforms. Whether they are 5 or 15, children of all ages will devour as much as they are allowed to consume. And that is often not a good thing.Children face the potential for cyberbullying, grooming, sextortion. There are real risks, and then there are issues like anxiety, depression and isolation. >> Get the latest news stories of interest by clicking here.Our kids are experiencing a childhood that’s increasingly online, and parents are trying to figure it out on the fly.On the latest edition of Oklahoma Chronicle with Evan Onstot, we speak with a panel of experts about the issues children and parents face. Open the video player above to learn more from the panel.

OKLAHOMA CITY —

Our children are growing up in a world much different than the one in which previous generations grew up.

>> Download the KOCO 5 App | Subscribe to KOCO 5’s YouTube channel | Sign up for KOCO 5’s Morning Newsletter

They have iPads, iPhones, Snapchat, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, and a slew of other social media platforms. Whether they are 5 or 15, children of all ages will devour as much as they are allowed to consume. And that is often not a good thing.

Children face the potential for cyberbullying, grooming, sextortion. There are real risks, and then there are issues like anxiety, depression and isolation.

>> Get the latest news stories of interest by clicking here.

Our kids are experiencing a childhood that’s increasingly online, and parents are trying to figure it out on the fly.

On the latest edition of Oklahoma Chronicle with Evan Onstot, we speak with a panel of experts about the issues children and parents face. Open the video player above to learn more from the panel.