This story appears in the May 2020 issue as "Growing up Wired." Subscribe to Discover magazine for more stories like this.
In just one generation, childhood went digital.
Even before they can say the words, “Hey, Siri,” kids are awash in smartphones, tablets and a torrent of interactive content. The average child younger than 2 spends around 40 minutes a day looking at screens — and that daily dose only increases as the years go by. One survey estimates that almost half of all American teenagers say they’re online nearly constantly.
