Boston takes on social media, Congress advances teen privacy protections, and Toy Story 5 makes the case for real-world connection

The Gist

This week, Mayor Michelle Wu announced that the City of Boston, on behalf of Boston Public Schools, filed a lawsuit asking Meta, TikTok, Snapchat, and YouTube to answer for design features built to keep young users hooked. Boston joins more than 1,500 school districts in a growing, nationwide effort to put students’ well-being first. Adults across the country are stepping up together. The lawsuit is an important moment, but it is also a reminder that legal action and platform restrictions are only one part of the picture. Students need the skills to navigate these platforms now, not just after the courts decide.

What to Know

The City of Boston filed on behalf of Boston Public Schools, citing data showing that reports of persistent sadness among high school students climbed to 44% in 2021, up from 27% in 2015. The suit argues these platforms lean on engagement-first design that keeps young users scrolling.

Boston has plenty of company. More than 1,500 school districts have joined similar federal litigation, a sign of how many school communities are choosing to act for their students.

Researchers are sharpening our picture of what students need, too. In The Atlantic, psychologist Peter Gray, whose upcoming book pushes back on Haidt’s phone-focused argument, points to decades of shrinking freedom for students to play, roam, and solve their own challenges. Haidt keeps the focus on phones and social platforms. Both agree students deserve better. That debate is healthy, and it reminds us there’s more than one lever to pull. Educators can start pulling several today.

TSI’s Take

Lawsuits send a message. Skills change what happens tomorrow morning. The schools setting students up to thrive pair clear standards with proactive, modern life skills education, no matter what courts or Congress decide. Educators can build those skills right now by:

• Helping students see how platforms are designed. When students understand that feeds are built to keep them scrolling, they can engage with intention and confidence.
• Opening honest conversations about how social media makes them feel. Invite students to notice whether their time online matches how they want to spend it. That reflection builds self-awareness that sticks.
• Making room for play, independence, and real-world connection. Gray’s research offers a great reminder: students grow resilient when they get to solve their own challenges. Balance online often starts with rich experiences offline.

Help students understand how social media is designed to capture their attention with the #WinAtSocial Lesson, Impact of Dopamine and Algorithms on Screen Time, where students learn to spot attention-grabbing features and build their own “Attention Reset” plan.

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The Gist

The House passed the Kids Internet and Digital Safety Act this week in a 267-to-117 vote. The bill would expand the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act to cover teens up to age 17 and ban targeted advertising to minors. That’s real progress for student online safety at the federal level. A coalition of youth safety organizations, including Common Sense Media and the American Federation of Teachers, wants lawmakers to go further by adding a “duty of care” provision that would require platforms to be designed safely from the start. Two strong ideas, one shared goal: safer platforms for students. The conversation is moving in students’ favor.

What to Know

According to K-12 Dive, the KIDS Act would update COPPA to extend existing privacy protections that cover children up to age 12 so they also cover teens up to age 17, and it would ban targeted advertising to minors. The bill passed the House and now heads to the Senate.

Some youth safety groups want it to reach even higher. A coalition that includes Common Sense Media and the American Federation of Teachers wrote to House leaders urging a “duty of care” provision. They argue that much of the risk to young people is built into how platforms are designed, not only what those platforms show. In their view, requiring companies to build products safely from the start is the protection that matters most.

Lawmakers who negotiated the bill see it differently. They point out that the legislation lets states enact and enforce stronger online protections for children and teens. In their words, the KIDS Act is a floor, not a ceiling. And legislation is just the first step. The next is positive and proactive education.

TSI’s Take

Legislation like this shows where things are headed. Whether or not the KIDS Act clears the Senate, students are on these platforms today, and policy takes time to catch up. Educators don’t have to wait. Here’s where to start:

• Teaching students that privacy is a skill. Students who understand what they’re sharing and why stay far better protected than those who simply check a box.
• Helping students recognize targeted content. When students see that the ads and posts in their feeds aren’t random, they engage with more confidence and a sharper eye.
• Building ongoing privacy conversations. As platforms evolve and laws change, students need a way of thinking about privacy that travels with them, not a list of standards that goes out of date.

Help students build the habits to make smart decisions about their privacy and screen time with the #WinAtSocial Lesson, Meta Lawsuits, where students explore what two court cases reveal about how social media apps were built.

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The Gist

Pixar’s Toy Story 5 arrives with a message students will recognize right away. The film follows Jessie and the other toys as they face their biggest challenge yet: Lily, a frog-shaped tablet that helps Bonnie make friends online in an instant, though not the deeper, in-person connection she’s really looking for. Students today are balancing face-to-face play with screen time every day, so the story lands as timely and relatable for the students who will be sitting in classrooms this fall. Better still, it gives educators a ready-made way to talk about it.

What to Know

Toy Story 5 centers on Bonnie, who wants to connect with other children her age at a moment when many of them have swapped make-believe for tablets. When her parents give her a Lilypad tablet to help her make friends, Bonnie builds online connections that turn out to feel thin. Meanwhile, Jessie discovers a child named Blaze who shares Bonnie’s love of imagination, a picture of the kind of real friendship Bonnie has been hoping for.

The film connects with audiences across generations because it captures something true about this moment. A new study shared in The Conversation found that more than 60% of middle and high school students chose their career aspirations based on what they saw online, a sign of how much of students’ inspiration and identity now takes shape online. Digital connection and in-person relationships blend together for students more than ever, and Toy Story 5 puts that tension on the big screen.

For educators, the film is a conversation starter hiding in plain sight, and a genuinely fun one.

TSI’s Take

Students aren’t going to stop using technology, and that isn’t the goal. The goal is helping them tell the difference between a connection that fills them up and one that leaves them empty. Toy Story 5 opens that door in a natural way, and teachers can walk through it with their students by:

• Using the film as a jumping-off point for discussion. Ask students to compare an online interaction that felt genuine with one that felt shallow. What made the difference?
• Helping students name what real connection feels like. When students can describe the qualities of a meaningful relationship, they recognize when something online doesn’t measure up.
• Encouraging students to invest in in-person relationships alongside their digital ones. Balance doesn’t mean choosing one over the other. It means being intentional about where you put your energy.

Help students find the balance between their online and offline lives with the #WinAtSocial Lesson, Science Behind Screen Time, where students explore how their digital habits connect to the relationships and experiences that matter most.

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As adults take real action for students, in the courts, in Congress, and even at the movies, these lawsuits, laws, and films all point to the same next step. Students need the skills to navigate social media with confidence, and they need them now, not after the courts decide. The Social Institute makes it easy to start. Preview ready-to-use #WinAtSocial Lessons, dig into our Seven Standards, or request a demo to see how these conversations come to life in your classroom.

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