Nearfield makes youth experiences with tech easier to find, understand, and act on by bringing adults closer to the source.
"I feel like social media was made to inform people about… current events or… to help people get through things. But now everything's just - Is this trustworthy? Is it fake? Or like, you have to scroll on comments in order to see if it's AI or not? Like… it can’t just be easy.”
Led by Dr. Emily Weinstein, co-founder of the Center for Digital Thriving, we're a small team of researchers and storytellers building a youth listening engine. We bring real-time insights into what teens are actually living through with technology, as they live through it.
Alongside amazing thought partners, Emily has spent the last fifteen years researching teens' experiences with social media and now generative AI. And still, every conversation with a teen sparks something new.
Care to lean in and listen? Learn about our scroll-through method.
SENSEMAKING IN PROGRESS
50+
Scroll-Through Interviews in 2026
70+
Diverse Youth Participants and Counting...
This collaborative report with Center for Digital Thriving examines how generative AI is reshaping relationships in classrooms. It draws on a nationally representative survey of more than 1,000 US public school teachers and principals, plus interviews with educators and 31 young people.
Have you heard about Gauth? What about Paladin? Same. Teens told us about the apps they're using to socialize, explore, and learn — read why they matter and what adults should know.
"I've been referring to moments like this as the 'oracle' treatment. What if the crush doesn't know what the song really means?"
"...and what if instead of listening to the song, she just asks this question to AI. Losing the experience to decide for herself how a song feels... losing the neuropathways laid down associated with music and that time in her life... losing music."
"Hearing this I felt like: oh, of course they are asking AI to interpret flirting and ambiguous texts. Reminds me of another interview where a teen was going back and forth with ChatGPT about recommendations for a gift that would match the energy of a guy who brought her flowers"
“I asked [AI] if this guy likes me because of the music that he was sending me... like J. Cole songs and stuff... I was like, if he sends me this J. Cole song, what does it mean? [AI answered] ‘Cole is known for being thoughtful and down to earth, so it's probably someone who thinks that you can handle a little bit of substance.’"
Citation: Nearfield. (2026, April). Spring 2026 Gen AI and social media listening loop [Collection of participant quotes]. Nearfield Listening Library. https://www.thenearfield.org/quotes/j-cole
We love collaborating with the vibrant community of funders, organizations, and people centering youth voices.
We work closely with other organizations and researchers to bring timely youth insights into more spaces.
For 2027, we're planning tailored briefing sessions for parents, educators, philanthropists, and others to share what we're hearing from youth, and to think together about why it matters.
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