I've been looking forward to this moment for quite a while, so I'm keeping my intro short this week. Here is the trailer for our new movie, Screenagers: Generation AI:

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I hope you love it! The trailer is only a small window into the enormous amount of work our small team has done.

AI has arrived in a world that was already digitally saturated, bringing a new set of challenges to youth, parents, communities, and schools that are stretched thin already. We made this movie in the hope that it helps.

Knowing that so many of you have already booked screenings for after our September 8 launch is wonderful because early viewers have indeed found it helpful. Below you can see some of what people are saying.

Lisa and I are incredibly thankful to everyone on the film team and all the people who shared their stories and perspectives in the film. We are talking truly about a team effort. 

If you are thinking about hosting a screening at your school or in your community, we would love to send you a preview screener of a near-final cut. You can find out how screenings work and make an inquiry on our hosting page, and someone from our team will follow up to help you arrange it.

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We have been sharing a preview of Screenagers: Generation AI with prospective hosts over the past few weeks for input. Many of them also took the time to write back with their thoughts, and I am so grateful they did. Their feedback genuinely shaped the final cut. With their permission, here is some of what they told us.

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“Overall, I feel like this is your best film yet! I thought that it really captured the potential good as well as the harms and dangers of Gen AI both on mental health and learning.” 

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“Parents desperately need information. This documentary is chock-full of facts that are presented in a very easy format. I don't know a single parent that wouldn't benefit from watching this.” 

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“I felt like the film had a lot of nuance, which I think is missing from many discussions of AI. I don't think it was heavy-handed or trying to scare people, but it outlined the many risks alongside ways in which AI could be rebuilt or reimagined with social good as a goal.”

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“I liked that there were multiple perspectives represented: students, teachers, parents, mental health experts, etc.”

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“The personal stories moved me and made the content memorable. I loved the examples of how school districts and teachers are acknowledging the negative aspects of AI and how they are implementing programs to make kids more engaged.” 

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“Thank you for making this film! I think it can really help so many families, and help parents understand what their children are trying to navigate in the world today. It also helps us educators understand what students are facing and how we can support them.” 

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There is more information on the Screenagers: Generation AI page here. And back in May, when we announced the movie, I wrote about why we decided to make it. Here is a section from that post that gives a sense of why this movie, and why now:

What's already happening with Generation AI

Originally published May 12, 2026

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In just a short space of time:

• Kids are turning to AI chatbots, like ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and all of the ones baked into social media apps, for emotional support and advice. Often, this is in place of talking to trusted adults or peers.
• In some cases, the advice given by AI is steering vulnerable young people in genuinely dangerous directions, around food and body image, substance use, self-harm, and even suicide.
• Deepfake harassment is showing up in schools and in young people's social lives. Easily accessible AI tools are being used to generate fake but eerily realistic images of people, often in compromising positions or situations, with young people becoming both the targets and the ones creating them.
• AI-generated content designed to influence, manipulate, or harm young people is overwhelming platforms like YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram, showing up in feeds, group chats, and search results in ways that are hard for any parent or educator to keep up with.
• Students are being tempted to outsource their thinking, including essays, problem-solving, and even creative work, to AI platforms, with researchers asking serious questions about what this means for learning and cognitive development.

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These aren't far-off worries. These concerns are showing up in classrooms, in counselors' offices, behind closed doors, and around dinner tables right now.

Through the stories shared in the film, cutting-edge science and deeply honest insights from adults and youth, the film provides an emotional look at the risks and what we can do right now in their social and academic lives to promote well-being. 

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One of the things I'm most proud of about Screenagers is that our films are made specifically for screening in schools and community settings. They become the centerpiece of real conversations in schools, parent groups, faith communities, youth organizations, and town halls all over the country.

To date, over 20,000 such screenings of our movies have happened across the country. If you are an educator, school leader, counselor, parent group organizer, or community advocate who would like to bring Screenagers: Generation AI to your community this fall, learn more and reach out to our team here.

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