Tuesday, 10 February 2026
Monday, 9 February 2026
Plug-in hybrids were supposed to be Americans' bridge to EVs. Now they're fading from showrooms.
Dodge/Stellantis
- Carmakers initially pitched plug-in hybrids as a bridge toward electrification. Now, several models have been discontinued.
- Stellantis has led the pack, cutting five plug-in hybrids.
- A new kind of electric-gas combination powertrain is getting a ton of investment from US automakers.
US automakers are still building electric vehicles and rolling out gas-powered trucks. But plug-in hybrids — once pitched as a compromise between gasoline cars and fully electric vehicles — are quickly disappearing from American showrooms.
Plug-in hybrids combine a cord-chargeable battery with a gasoline engine, allowing drivers to travel short distances on electricity alone before switching to gas on longer trips.
Unlike conventional or "mild" hybrids, which use small batteries to assist a gasoline engine and don't get an electrical socket, plug-in hybrids were designed to cut fuel use without requiring a full commitment to an EV.
Despite years of promotion, that powertrain is now being phased out across much of the industry, leaving several major automakers without any plug-in hybrids in their US lineups.
"Consumers really don't seem to like them," Kevin Roberts, the director of market intelligence at CarGurus, told Business Insider. "The sales figures are low and declining."
In January, year-over-year sales of plug-in hybrids fell 51.8%, according to CarGurus data. That happened while mild-hybrid sales jumped by 12.7%.
For months, the average sticker price of plug-in hybrids has continued to climb, even as demand waned. The average plug-in hybrid listed for $70,565 in January 2026, up from $62,079 a year earlier.
As demand has weakened and prices have risen, automakers have begun pulling plug-in hybrids out of their US lineups.
Jeep
The most dramatic retrenchment has come from Stellantis. Over the past year, the automaker has canceled or discontinued several plug-in hybrid models, including the Jeep Grand Cherokee 4xe, Jeep Wrangler 4xe, Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid, Alfa Romeo Tonale hybrid, and Dodge Hornet R/T.
Stellantis told Business Insider it is focusing instead on "more competitive electrified solutions, including hybrid and range-extended vehicles."
Ford is ending production of the Escape and Lincoln Corsair — including their plug-in hybrid variants — leaving the automaker without any plug-in hybrids in its American lineup. Kia has ended US sales of the Niro plug-in hybrid.
Last year, Volvo stopped US production of the S60 and V60 Recharge, including their plug-in hybrid variants, as part of "normal lifecycle planning," the company told Business Insider.
While 18% of Volvo's US vehicle sales last year had a plug, the automaker has said it wants electrified vehicles — including plug-in hybrids and fully electric models — to account for 90% to 100% of global sales by 2030.
Still, a wave of decisions to remove or wind down plug-in hybrid models has rapidly thinned inventory across the industry. Availability of plug-in hybrids on US dealer lots fell 46.9% over the past year, according to CarGurus dealership data.
The retreat comes as American car companies reassess their electric strategies. The Detroit Big Three have announced tens of billions of dollars in losses tied to electrification investments, while Chinese automakers — led by BYD, the world's best-selling EV car brand last year — have continued expanding electric and hybrid production and gaining market share abroad.
The lineup changes have been costly for the car brands. Stellantis announced a $26 billion write-down tied to its broader electrification strategy, including discontinued plug-in models.
"Automakers probably dislike plug-in hybrids the most," Roberts added. "It's the most expensive option out there — you have to put in all the hardware for an EV, plus all the hardware for a combustion vehicle. Then, you have to add all the additional components to make them work together."
'A significantly different path'
Josh Lefkowitz/Getty Images
The plug-in hybrid pull-back stands out because it hasn't been mirrored across other powertrains. Automakers continue to produce battery-electric vehicles and conventional hybrids.
The other big bet among automakers is investing in range-extended electric vehicles, which rely primarily on electric motors but house small gas generators that can recharge batteries mid-drive. They're often called EREVs.
Many prototypes boast a range of 500 to 700 miles and get better gas mileage than combustion engines.
Ford announced plans to build a full-size EREV pickup by 2027. Stellantis' Ram 1500 will have an EREV option this year.
Volkswagen is also reviving the Scout brand of SUVs and pickups, including extended-range models. The company's CEO recently told InsideEVs that about 80% of reservations so far have been for EREVs.
While Chinese automakers have leaned heavily into plug-in hybrids and extended-range vehicles as a mass-market bridge to electrification, US automakers appear to be abandoning plug-in hybrids in favor of a more polarized strategy — betting on either simpler hybrids or fully electric vehicles.
Roberts of CarGurus said the plug-in hybrid retreat can't stop the global momentum toward a fully-electric future.
"I still think the long-term trend is toward EVs," he added. "It's just going to be a significantly different path."
from Business Insider https://ift.tt/yuFd5GN
Sunday, 8 February 2026
Their goal is a peaceful retirement. Up to half a million dollars in student loans is standing in the way.
Courtesy of Amye Cooley, Jordan Hendrickson
- Changes to federal student loans are set to be implemented beginning this summer.
- Borrowers said the uncertainty over changes makes it difficult to plan for retirement.
- Retirees said the debt is taking a financial and emotional toll.
For some, retirement means relaxation. For Jordan Hendrickson, retirement means debt.
"I don't have any retirement savings," Hendrickson, 54, told Business Insider. "I don't see any other way than working up until my last day."
Hendrickson received her doctorate in psychology in 2013, bringing her total student-loan balance to about $350,000, including what she borrowed for her bachelor's and master's degrees. While she qualified for Pell Grants, which are awarded to low-income students, Hendrickson turned to federal loans to help cover the remaining costs.
She now works two jobs, as a telehealth provider for a mental health company and on the mobile support team for her county. The latter qualifies her for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, which forgives student debt for government and nonprofit workers after 10 years of qualifying payments.
While Hendrickson is about halfway through her PSLF payments, she's worried federal changes to student loans — including President Donald Trump's plans to narrow eligibility for PSLF — could leave her paying off her debt, which now stands at just over $500,000, for decades to come.
"I don't know what's going to happen with this. I think that's my biggest anxiety, is the uncertainty," Hendrickson said. "I would like to plan for retirement, but I don't see a path forward right now, given that debt."
Business Insider has previously spoken to student-loan borrowers who have said they're postponing retirement, or are struggling in retirement, due to their student-debt loads. This year's looming changes to the federal lending landscape are adding additional stress. Trump's administration will begin implementing repayment changes this summer, including new repayment plans and a new rule that would limit PSLF eligibility.
While Hendrickson said she doesn't regret taking out student loans for her education, she wishes there were more certainty for her and other borrowers' repayment outlooks.
"The education I got was really good. I really love what I do. I do work 70 hours a week, but there's a meaning in that work," Hendrickson said. "I wouldn't change it. I just wish it wasn't like this."
What retiring with student loans looks like
While Hendrickson isn't sure if she'll retire, Amye Cooley, 85, is already retired — but has just over $60,000 in student loan debt weighing her down.
After a divorce, Cooley returned to school in 1978, hoping it would help her earn more money to take care of her family. She took out about $25,000 in student loans for her bachelor's degree, but upon graduating, she was unable to find a job, so she put her loans into forbearance.
She began working as a paraprofessional in her school district in 1984, earned her teaching certification, and taught for about 15 years before retiring from her full-time job in 2010 and switching to part-time tutoring. However, she's not enjoying the peace she had hoped for because of her student loans.
"I could have new rugs put in. I could have new windows put in. I could have some work done on my car. I could stop worrying about them garnishing my Social Security," Cooley said. "There's a whole lot of things I could do, but I have these student loans."
While Cooley is current on her student loans, she relies on Social Security and a teacher's pension to stay afloat and is worried that her federal benefits could be seized should she fall behind on her payments. The Department of Education announced in January that it was pausing wage garnishments and tax refund seizures, but did not specify when the pause would lift.
Similar to Cooley, Grace, 67, pursued her bachelor's and master's degrees in psychology to make more money. Her balance now stands at $232,000, and despite making payments for over 25 years as required for forgiveness under income-driven repayment plans, she said she's been unable to get an answer on whether she qualifies for relief.
She's now retired, and she said the anxiety with regard to her payment outlook is overwhelming — especially because, should she qualify for forgiveness this year, it could be accompanied by thousands of dollars in taxes. A 2021 provision in the American Rescue Plan that made student-loan forgiveness tax-free expired at the end of 2025, and the Trump administration has given no indication that it will be renewed.
With major federal repayment changes looming, though, the administration said it's acting in borrowers' best interests to curb excessive borrowing and simplify a complex student-loan system. Undersecretary of Education Nicholas Kent said in a statement last year that the repayment changes "will benefit borrowers who will no longer be pushed into insurmountable debt to finance degrees that do not pay off."
Those improvements are coming too late for Cooley, who said her life— and retirement — was altered the moment she chose to take out student loans.
"I went back to school to give my kids a better life," Cooley said. "And now 41 years later, I'm still paying this off. It's made a hell of a difference in my life."
from Business Insider https://ift.tt/JcxBt4S
Saturday, 7 February 2026
I booked an airline 'stopover' deal and got a free hotel. This is why it's one of the best air travel hacks.
Taylor Rains/Business Insider
- I experienced Turkish Airlines' "stopover" deal in Istanbul, which included a free five-star hotel.
- It's one of the industry's best travel hacks, so long as you understand the rules.
- Some airlines stop short of complimentary stays but offer discounts on hotels and tours.
Your layover doesn't have to mean sleeping on the airport floor or surviving on a $10 hot dog.
Some airlines offer "stopover" programs that let travelers turn a layover into a mini‑vacation, giving you a few days to explore the stopover city before continuing to your final destination.
Flight prices usually stay the same, and hotels or activities may be free or heavily discounted. Think of it as two trips for the price of one — and a chance to see a new city along the way.
It might seem counterintuitive — after all, airlines are offering free perks — but the strategy boosts tourism for the home country and encourages travelers to choose a one-stop itinerary over a nonstop flight, which can ultimately be more profitable for the carrier.
I recently took advantage of Turkish Airlines' stopover deal, spending three days in Istanbul before flying to my final destination, Croatia.
It gave me just the right amount of time to shake off jet lag after the long flight from New York and check off Istanbul's main sites, like the Sultan Ahmed Mosque (Blue Mosque) and the Spice Bazaar.
Taylor Rains/Business Insider
Turkish is one of roughly two dozen global carriers with a stopover setup. Other examples include Copa Airlines in Panama City, Qatar Airways in Doha, Icelandair in Reykjavik, Fiji Airways in Nadi, and Iberia in Madrid.
With so many options, stopovers are one of the industry's best travel hacks — though they require careful planning and the rules vary.
You have to apply for your accommodation
For Turkish, the stopover deal includes a free hotel on either the outbound or return flight, provided the layover is at least 20 hours but no more than 7 days. This duration requirement varies from airline to airline.
The hotel reservation wasn't automatic upon booking. Travelers must separately apply for the voucher on Turkish's stopover page or via email at least 72 hours before their trip.
You can usually select your preferred hotel, but the final assignment depends on availability and isn't guaranteed.
Because part of my itinerary was in business class and my origin was the US, I received three free nights at a five-star hotel; eligible economy fares include two nights at a four-star hotel.
I stayed at the Fairmont Quasar, about 40 minutes from the airport and 30 minutes from Istanbul's tourist-friendly Old City. The complimentary room would normally run around $200 per night during the offseason.
Taylor Rains/Business Insider
It was a bit far from the main sites, as was the case with most of the other hotel options. Still, my room was comfortable, overlooked the Bosphorus Strait, and included breakfast.
Visa fees and transport costs between the airport, city, and hotel were not included; my cabs cost between $20 and $50, with higher fares during rush hour. There is also cheaper public transportation.
I received three nights because the program offers extended hotel stays to travelers flying from select countries, like the US, South Korea, Australia, and Canada. Those on shorter flights or from other locations receive one or two nights' free, depending on the fare class.
I slept through much of my first day as I adjusted to the eight-hour time difference, but later headed out to explore Istanbul's historic landmarks and eat a proper kebab.
Taylor Rains/Business Insider
The stopover gave me a buffer between the red-eye flight to Turkey and the hiking-focused trip I had planned in Croatia. The whole journey felt like less of a slog.
Not all stopover deals are alike
Each stopover deal works a little differently when it comes to eligibility rules and perks.
Typically, your layover must fall within the program's specified timeframe, and your itinerary must be on a qualifying route. There may also be restrictions on fare class.
Most airlines also require you to add the stopover through a dedicated portal or customer service, either at the time of booking or within a set window afterward.
Taylor Rains/Business Insider
Like Turkish, a few sweeten the deal with complimentary stays. UAE's Etihad Airways includes up to two free hotel nights in Abu Dhabi as part of its program.
Ethiopian Airlines provides a free night at its Skylight In-Terminal Hotel at Addis Ababa Airport for layovers between eight and 24 hours. That's enough time to sleep, but little chance to explore the city.
Others lean on discounted options. Qatar Airways, for example, offers name-brand hotel rooms in Doha at a small fee, ranging from $14 per person for one night to $76 per person for four nights.
Airlines like Copa and TAP Air Portugal offer structured stopover perks, such as discounts on hotels, restaurants, and experiences. Emirates also includes a stopover, and travelers can optionally add a curated multi-day tour in Dubai for an extra fee.
Others, like Air Canada, Air France, and Dutch carrier KLM, simply let travelers turn a layover into a multi-day visit without risking a fare hike, making their stopovers more of a routing perk than a bundle of freebies.
That means travelers are largely on their own for planning hotels and activities. Even so, stopovers remain a smart way to see a city you might not otherwise make time for.
For aviation and travel aficionados like me, they're a double win: a chance to experience different airlines and aircraft while squeezing more cities into a single trip.
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Friday, 6 February 2026
For brain surgery patients, a robot could be the key to faster recovery
SIP/Universal Images Group via Getty Images; Alyssa Powell/BI
- Dr. Homoud Aldahash performed the first remote robotic brain surgery.
- If adopted widely, this technology could increase access to highly skilled neurosurgeons worldwide.
- This article is part of "Transforming Treatments," a series on medical innovations that save time, money, or discomfort.
When Dr. Homoud Aldahash started the three-hour process of removing a tumor about the size of a walnut from a patient's brain, it was an experience unlike any other in his 25 years as a neurosurgeon.
It wasn't Aldahash's gloved hands slicing 68-year-old Mohammed Almutrafi's right frontal lobe, but surgical instruments attached to a set of robotic arms, which Aldahash controlled from a console where he sat three meters away.
Almutrafi was referred to Aldahash by his primary care doctor after experiencing chronic headaches and poor concentration that seemed to be getting worse. The referral culminated in what would become the world's first remote robotic brain surgery, performed late last year.
While putting a robot in between a patient and their brain surgeon sounds risky (and it is), Aldahash, a consultant neurosurgeon at King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre in Saudi Arabia, told Business Insider that Almutrafi recovered four times as fast as the average patient.
Why? The robot shock-absorbed any tremors or sudden movements Aldahash may have made, allowing him to make more precise movements and therefore fewer micro-injuries to the surrounding brain tissues, which can prolong the recovery process.
"It's like an extension of the surgeon's arms," Aldahash said, "but they're much more stable than the surgeon's arms. It only transmits steady, smooth movements that help you in performing your surgery."
Robert Michael/picture alliance via Getty Images
The console consisted of an immersive screen that projected a live feed of the brain via cameras, and a control panel from which Aldahash controlled the robotic arms. The live feed is 3D, and the surgeon can zoom in up to 10x from any direction.
These steady movements, Aldahash believes, enabled Almutrafi to go home less than 24 hours after his surgery, when a typical window is 48 to 72 hours.
The operation needs to be repeated on many more patients before this claim can be validated, but Aldahash is hopeful.
The robot, called Da Vinci, is already used in many hospitals for general, colorectal, urology, and gynecology surgery. This, however, is the first time it has been used for the complex practice of brain surgery.
Widespread use could mean shorter recovery times, less post-op pain for patients, and greater overall access to the procedure, Aldahash said.
"I think this is going to impact patients all over the world, hopefully in the near future. It was a moment of pride," Aldahash said.
How robots could help create a higher quality of patient care
Although robotic brain surgery is in its infancy, this marks a step toward better access to high-quality neurosurgery, neurosurgeons who were not involved in Almutrafi's surgery told Business Insider.
The brain is "a highly eloquent organ in a tight box," said Kevin O'Neill, a consultant neurosurgeon at Charing Cross Hospital, Imperial College, London, and the chairman of the UK-based charity, Brain Tumor Research Campaign. He said that surgeons need to be extremely accurate when navigating the procedure. Still, not all surgeons are equally skilled, meaning patient outcomes can vary.
"There are individual variances. But with robotics, what you're doing is standardizing that and eliminating some of those variances," he said, referring to the varying skillsets of neurosurgeons.
Giulio Anichini, a consultant neurosurgeon at Cork University Hospital, Ireland, and an honorary research fellow at Imperial College London, said he felt "cautiously optimistic" about what the procedure could mean for the future of brain surgery.
The patient's tumor was located on the surface of the brain, making it relatively simple to remove in comparison to tumors located in deeper and less accessible areas, he said. Provided that there are no complications, Anichini said he has seen patients who were recovering from this type of procedure go home after 24 hours.
"I'm not entirely sure that's all due to the Da Vinci," he said of the patient's short recovery time. He added: "I don't want to sound overly critical about this. It is really impressive what they did."
Looking further ahead, the successful remote surgery could signify a step toward a world in which neurosurgeons can operate on patients from different cities, countries, or even continents, Anichini said.
Often, "there is one neurosurgery centre for a big, big population, sometimes very remote," he said. "If you have surgeons that can perform movements more quickly and more safely, and you can do it even remotely, you have a massive outreach of good quality care."
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Thursday, 5 February 2026
America is banning more and more kids from social media. That's bad news for kids.
Getty Images; Alyssa Powell/BI
Last fall, teens younger than 18 who logged into Instagram last fall were met with a PG-13-like shroud on their feeds. No longer could they follow accounts that regularly share what Meta deemed "age-inappropriate content" or search for terms like gore and alcohol. To opt out of these automatically applied guardrails, they'd need their parents to grant permission through a connected account. The move was an expansion of Instagram's efforts to give parents more control over teens' accounts. As the chorus against social media and screentime at large rises, Meta has tried to do something to appease parents and keep kids scrolling.
Across the US and around the world, meanwhile, governments are looking to curtail internet access for teens, which could push social media companies to verify users' ages or censor posts they deem not safe for kids. Australia has banned kids younger than 16 from joining major social media apps. Denmark has agreed to pass restrictions for those younger than 15, and French lawmakers voted overwhelmingly in January to advance their own ban. Florida, Virginia, and Nebraska have created a patchwork of laws that guide how children can — or in some total bans, can't — access social media. Federal lawmakers introduced a bill in December to repeal Section 230, which acts as the First Amendment of the internet and absolves websites from liability for user-posted content. For the past four years, lawmakers have considered the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA), a bill that digital rights experts say could lead to age-verification protocols across the internet. Courts are poised to consider a spate of lawsuits this year against Big Tech companies like Meta, Google, and Snap alleging they make addictive products that harm young people (the companies have denied the allegations).
The spirit behind the laws has been trumpeted by pundits and parents over the past decade: social media is ruining childhood. Absurd screen time logs, AI brainrot filling social feeds, and clear dangers of child exploitation, extremism, and online bullying all make this a compelling argument to parents. The wave of legislation could drastically slash the number of kids online and the content they scroll through. But the movement to kick kids off social platforms largely ignores that the connection of social media on mental health might be nuanced, that kids have a right to speak and access information, and that all of us can benefit from them joining conservations.
That silence might not be good for teens — or for those too old to keep up with the new memes.
"All of this policy around keeping kids off the internet is couched in language of protecting them, keeping them safe, helping them," says Evan Greer, director of digital rights advocacy group Fight for the Future. "But there is a piece of it that is inherently rooted in the idea that they have nothing valuable to add to society or that there's no point in listening to them."
Kids came online in droves during the freewheeling, largely anonymous playground era of 2000s internet. By 2005, 87% of adolescents aged 12 to 17 used the internet, according to a Pew Research Center survey, and three-quarters of them were using it to read news. The web democratized information for young people who often had little access to it outside of TV news broadcasts playing in their living rooms, and particularly connected queer young people to burgeoning online communities. By contrast, only two-thirds of adults were online by 2005.
Investors caught on to the value young people brought to the social web. That meant more ads powered by user data, algorithmic feeds, push notifications, and content driven to capture and entertain in short spurts. People spend more time online now and complain about it more than they did 20 years ago, but the evidence of how modern social media affects kids is split. Meta's own leaked, internal documents have famously revealed Instagram could be harmful to teens (a characterization Meta has disputed). Studies for years have suggested there's correlations between high screen time and increasing anxiety or depression among young people.
But a study published last month from the University of Manchester challenges the long-held idea that gaming and social media are bad for kids. Researchers followed 25,000 kids ages 11 to 14 in what the university characterized as "one of the largest and most detailed studies of its kind." They tracked teens' self-reported habits on social media and gaming along with emotional difficulties over three school years. They found "no evidence" that more frequent social media use or gaming caused an increase in symptoms of anxiety or depression over the following year. A 2021 study from University of Toronto researchers found that LGBTQ youth use social media for emotional support and development, education, entertainment, and search information specific to the queer community, which can benefit them. A report published in 2023 from the US Surgeon General's Office noted both the harms and benefits of social media, but also that "we do not yet have enough evidence to determine if social media is sufficiently safe for children and adolescents."
Young people continue to dictate much of online culture, activism, and the ways platforms evolve, just as they did in the 2000s. They have for a decade-plus proved social media isn't frivolous. Greta Thunberg was just 15 when she started her solo climate strike outside of the Swedish parliament, eventually using social media to grow her action into a global youth movement. Jamie Margolin has been advocating for climate justice since she was 14. Black Lives Matter activist Thandiwe Abdullah started a youth chapter of the movement when she was 12. When tens of thousands of kids walked out of school last week to protest ICE, they did so after reading organizing posts on social media. Many young people don't use social platforms just for posting and viewing content, but also as their main way to communicate privately with friends, on Snapchat or in Instagram DMs.
KOSA was first proposed in response to the leaked Instagram findings. If passed, it would require tech companies employ the strictest privacy and safety settings for those under 17, and remove features like infinite scroll, autoplay, push notifications, and rewards for time spent on the apps. The lawmakers behind the bill say it does not require age verification, but opponents argue it would lead to mass censorship of the internet, as tech companies and regulators would have latitude to determine what content could be harmful to minors and likely employ age verification tools or block certain content to comply. Certain conservative and progressive advocates both dislike the bill, and their opposing concerns get to the heart of the free speech issue: who gets to dictate what content is harmful? Patriot Voices, former presidential candidate Rick Santorum's conservative advocacy group, argues that its passage would "transfer parenting authority to government bureaucrats" and block access to information about "the harms of sex-change operations for children." Progressives worry teens will be robbed of information about LGBTQ issues and abortion. Big Tech companies have also lobbied against the bill.
Most of these laws and bills unfairly target the expression of young people, free speech advocates say. "Rights under the Constitution and the First Amendment do not simply turn on the day you are 18," says Cody Venzke, senior policy counsel at the ACLU. "Young people have the same Constitutional rights as adults do, and for some reason what gets lost in policy debates about young people, is the fact that they have a right to speak, they have a right to listen, they have a right to access information." The argument hasn't been a total winner so far; a federal court ruled in November that a Florida law barring children younger than 15 from social media could move forward, and didn't violate free speech protections, but a federal court Utah in 2024 did block an age-limit law there on First Amendment grounds.
In the past two years, several states have enacted a handful of laws regulating "sharenting" and kidfluencers, in part as a result of now-grown child influencers advocating states to bar parents from using young children in much of their monetized content. Teen girls have led activism on the harms of deepfake porn. But these new state and federal efforts focused on how children access the internet and social media have largely not taken kids' perspectives into consideration, and aren't driven by a youth movement. Teens are instead fighting against the laws; The ACLU last year brought hundreds of teens to Capitol Hill to lobby against KOSA. And while nearly half of teens say social media has a mostly negative effect on their peers, only 14% say the same for themselves, according to a Pew Research Center survey. In weighing the effects, they're more likely to say it hurts than helps their productivity or sleep, but more think it helps rather than hurts their friendships. More than 60% of teens say social media is an important way to get mental health information.
The bills gaining traction recently are akin to "abstinence-only sex education," Greer says. Lawmakers could focus on better funding mental health counseling in schools or regulating how social media companies serve up content based on personal data or in addictive, endless formats for everyone, she says. But kicking kids off the internet "avoids getting at the root of the problem, which is the surveillance capitalist business model that these large social media platforms employ."
Blanket social bans based on age ignore the nuances of adolescence; some 15-year-olds might have more media literacy than an 18-year-old. "It's not as if young people are going to reach whatever the threshold age is and decide not to be online at that point," says Clare Ryan, a children and family law expert at University of Alabama School of Law. Instead, bans might rob kids and teens of the chances to develop media literacy and comfortability with the platforms. "Young people aren't necessarily going to have opportunities to learn and develop their facility and understanding with these technologies."
Young people, frequently boys and men, are being radicalized by far right forums and podcasters, AI is being used to create nonconsensual deepfake nudes, often of teenage girls, and AI chatbots are giving encouraging words when people express intent to harm themselves. Many of the problems with the internet mirror those of our society. Bullying, scamming, sexual exploitation, addiction to quick dopamine hits — they all exist on and off the screen. A social web where everyone has privacy and can use platforms that forego addictive features and harmful, harassing content has long been the dream. But booting young people isn't going to resurrect the playful, fun days of the internet so many long for.
Amanda Hoover is a senior correspondent at Business Insider covering the tech industry. She writes about the biggest tech companies and trends.
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