Forum & Voices
Say it
out loud.
This is the Teen IGF forum — a place where young people post their unfiltered opinions, debate big questions, and build arguments that actually go somewhere.
🔥 Question of the Month
Should AI companies be legally required to hire teen advisors before launching products that target young people?
Teen Voices
What teens are saying
All Topics
AI & Tech
Digital Rights
Online Safety
Internet Access
In my city, 1GB of data costs a full day’s wage. How are we supposed to ‘participate in the digital economy’ when we can’t afford to be online? Access isn’t a luxury — it’s the entry ticket to everything else we’re discussing here.
247 teens agree with this
I used an AI tool that kept recommending I lose weight every time I asked for health advice. Nobody asked it to do that. Who programmed this bias in? And why is nobody asking teens what we actually want AI to do?
189 teens agree with this
Every app I use knows more about me than my parents do. They know where I sleep, what I dream about, when I’m anxious. I never said yes to that. When did surveillance become the price of being online?
312 teens agree with this
People talk about keeping teens safe online like it means locking us in a digital playpen. Real safety means teaching us critical thinking, not removing our access. Treat us like the future adults we are.
156 teens agree with this
Featured Debate
This month’s big question
Should social media platforms be banned for users under 16?
✓ For the Ban
“Young brains need protection from systems designed to exploit them.”
Social media platforms are engineered for addiction using psychological tricks. Teens lack the fully developed prefrontal cortex to resist these manipulation patterns. A ban at 16 gives brains time to develop critical thinking before exposure.
VS
✗ Against the Ban
“Banning teens doesn’t make the internet safer — it just makes us invisible.”
Bans push teens to use platforms with fake ages and zero protections. Social media is where young activists, artists, and organizers build movements. Fix the platforms — don’t exile the users.