Recently, the world witnessed the assassination of Charlie Kirk with the gruesome video of the incident circulating online in real time. National attention quickly zeroed in on the assassin and in that process a powerful image surfaced. 

The image was that of a young Tyler Robinson sitting in front of a laptop. Dressed in Avengers pajamas and surrounded by what appears to be Christmas candy, Robinson’s lips are curved in a soft smile as he clicks on the keyboard.

“Almost forgot Tyler,” Tyler’s mother captioned the photo, “He can totally avoid us now that he got all of the computer accessories he’s been wanting.”

Today, that little boy is a 22-year-old man who sits in jail awaiting trial, accused of murdering Charlie Kirk in front of the world.

As a mother, this photo broke my heart. It serves as a chilling reminder of what a truly dangerous, radicalizing, and lonely place the internet can be. 

The photo of a young Tyler is indicative of the rapid rise of the internet, which has been detrimental for children’s socialization, critical thinking, and safety. Many children are substituting in-person experiences and relationships with online platforms and a manufactured “community.”   

Reports indicate America’s youth are spending more time socializing on Instagram, TikTok, and Discord than in-person and that 31% of teens find conversations with AI “companions” more satisfying than conversations with real friends. This human replacement affects nearly half of American teenagers, who are online “almost constantly.”  

These trends have ensured that most American teenagers are, as sociologist Sherry Turkle aptly says, “forever elsewhere” — living online instead of in the moment during their most formative, vulnerable years. Instead of learning how to think or interact in real-world scenarios, children are encountering potentially dangerous strangers and ideologies online without........

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