Web 3.0 + Childhood = ?
Web 3.0 + Childhood = ?
I remember the days of Web 1.0—when the internet was basically a giant brochure you downloaded and consumed. Then came Web 2.0: uploading, sharing, Facebook, YouTube, smartphones, portability, algorithms telling us what we should see. Looking back, those feel like the “good old days” now.
As we move toward Web 3.0, the question becomes: What does this next phase mean for us as professionals? And what does it mean for our kids?
Web3 isn’t fully defined yet, but if you look at the trajectory, it’s clear we’re heading toward a world where the smartphone may not be the central device anymore. Instead, we’ll use some sort of interface—wearables, glasses, ambient AI devices—that work seamlessly with intelligent assistants. AI won’t be something we open as an app; it will live with us, anticipate us, and work beside us.
I can imagine a future where a personal robot assistant isn’t science fiction but a household item—customizable outfits, customizable skills, even customizable personalities. Technology will be woven into daily living in ways that make opting out nearly impossible. In many ways, we’re already there.
But what keeps me up at night is not the technology itself—it’s the impact on our kids’ emotional and relational development. We’re watching loneliness rise and face-to-face connection fade. Many teens already struggle to communicate, form friendships, or date. And now, right alongside that struggle, a rapidly growing industry of AI chatbots is stepping in to offer companionship when a young person is alone or lonely.
That might sound harmless—or even helpful—but we need to pause.
These AI companions will talk to our children in ways we may never see. They will learn their patterns, their vulnerabilities, their moods. And we do not yet understand the long-term developmental, emotional, or relational impact of growing up with a digital “friend” that is always available, always agreeable, and always shaping itself around the child.
If Web 3.0 becomes what I think it will, our kids—when they grow up and have children of their own—may feel just as outpaced and overwhelmed by new technologies as many of us do today. They may struggle to understand what their children are using or how to guide them, because the tech will be advancing even faster. And in that gap, nefarious actors—and even well-intentioned AI systems—could influence kids in ways right under their noses.
That’s why this article struck me so deeply.
It captures the core message many of us feel instinctively: slow down.
Not every innovation belongs in a child’s hands.
Do young kids really need toys that talk back? Stuffed animals with AI built in? A digital companion whispering into the still-forming mind of a child?
Let’s keep our kids as human as possible, for as long as possible.
Let’s give them the kind of growing years we had—person to person, human to human.
Please take a moment to read this powerful piece. It’s worth your time.
Stay connected,
– Ryan