Jennifer Heifferon & Alanna Powers-O'Brien | Rebuilding Belonging in a Digital Age

Why It Matters

Without accessible, safe physical spaces, teens substitute technology for connection, deepening loneliness and limiting healthy social development; investing in inclusive third places directly supports youth mental health and community cohesion.

Key Takeaways

• Teens crave more in‑person connection despite persistent loneliness.
• Physical belonging outweighs building presence; safety drives attendance.
• Cost, time, transport, and caregiver rules create layered barriers.
• AI chatbots become emotional safety nets when real spaces lack.
• Free, safe, friend‑filled venues with food boost spontaneous teen hangouts.

Summary

The seminar presented findings from a statewide California study on teen belonging in a digital age, exploring how physical "third places" and online spaces intersect. Researchers surveyed over a thousand adolescents and held focus groups with caregivers, co‑designing the project with youth aged 15‑25 to capture authentic perspectives. Key insights reveal that nine‑in‑ten teens prioritize in‑person time, yet 53% wish for more face‑to‑face interaction and 70% prefer unstructured hangouts. Belonging matters more than the mere presence of a building; one‑third of teens abandon spaces they deem unsafe, while 48% turn to AI chatbots for emotional safety. Barriers such as cost, limited free time, transportation, and caregiver restrictions compound, especially for rural youth who feel unwelcome six times more often than urban peers. Quotes from participants underscore the gap: "We’d love to get off our phones, but where are we supposed to go?" a teen remarked, while a 15‑year‑old described an ideal spot as "welcoming, fun, and judgment‑free." Another teen noted AI feels "emotionally safer than talking to a person" when real‑world options are scarce. The implications are clear: policymakers and community leaders must invest in affordable, safe, and socially inviting physical venues—complete with food and peer presence—to reduce reliance on digital substitutes and mitigate loneliness. Enhancing these third places can foster meaningful connections, lessen AI dependence, and support adolescent well‑being in an increasingly digital landscape.

Original Description

About the Seminar:

As adolescence becomes increasingly digital, public discourse tends to focus on screen time, platform design, and online harms. Yet alongside these concerns, a parallel transformation has unfolded: the steady erosion of physical spaces meant for teens. What happens to youth social life when the outside world contracts? This talk argues that the rise of digital adolescence must be understood alongside the decline of third places—low-barrier environments beyond home and school that once supported informal peer culture and autonomy. Drawing on original statewide data from caregiver focus groups and a survey of more than 1,000 teens, we examine how young people navigate belonging amid shrinking real-world options. By reframing youth technology use as intertwined with social infrastructure, this research raises a new policy question: What would it mean to treat third places as essential civic infrastructure for youth in a digital age?

About the Speakers:

Jennifer Heifferon is the Child Well-Being Program Director at the California Partners Project, where she leads research and cross-sector initiatives focused on youth development in a digital age. Her work examines how technology, family systems, and community environments intersect to shape adolescent well-being, with an emphasis on translating lived experience and empirical research into insights for families, educators, and civic decision-makers. Jennifer’s background bridges K–12 education as a teacher, learning specialist, and equity leader, formal training and facilitation in diversity, equity, and inclusion, and ongoing leadership in youth sports coaching. Prior to her work in education, she worked in digital media as an interactive producer. She holds a BA in Psychology from Stanford University and an MA in Teaching from the University of San Francisco.

Alanna Powers-O'Brien is the Research Specialist for the Family Online Safety Institute, managing FOSI's research projects. She is passionate about creating safer experiences for kids and families online. Alanna has created several resources and managed research projects that focus on informing parents, educators and other stakeholders about concepts such as digital literacy, wellbeing and AI. Her prior experiences were in both media and education. Alanna has taught English and communications courses at both the high school and college level, and concentrated on the subject of media literacy education during her master’s program. Alanna has a master’s degree in Media Studies from the Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University. She also holds undergraduate degrees in both Public Relations and English from Penn State University, and is a Fulbright alumna.