Under the Algorithm

Mental Health, Tech, and Public Policy

You've heard it before: smartphones are both incredible tools for connection and a detriment to mental health. Knowing this, how do we address the effects of phones and social media on national, state, and local policy levels to keep each other safe and healthy? 

In this track, Fellows will examine how social media platforms, smartphones, and internet policy shape the online experiences of adults, children, and teens. Through conversations with lawmakers, advocates, tech industry experts, and mental health professionals, Fellows will explore emerging state and federal policies, including the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA). Fellows will grapple with questions of well-being, addiction, teen-targeted advertising, platform responsibility, privacy, and free expression to specifically determine how policy can protect young people online while balancing innovation, rights, and autonomy in an increasingly algorithm-driven world.