American Families Divided Yet United on Technology’s Impact, Survey Reveals
By Art Raymond, Deseret News | Published Nov 14, 2025
In an era dominated by smartphones, social media, and emerging technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), American families find themselves navigating a complex landscape of benefits and risks. A new national survey, the 2025 American Family Survey conducted by Brigham Young University’s Wheatley Institute, the BYU Center for the Study of Elections and Democracy, and Deseret News, illuminates the nuanced and often ambivalent viewpoints Americans hold toward technology’s influence on family life.
Technology’s Mixed Impact on Families Across the Nation
The survey, completed in August 2025 with responses from 3,000 U.S. adults, reveals that many Americans neither strongly embrace nor outright reject technologies such as social media, AI, and smartphones. Remarkably, at least half of respondents assessed these technologies as neither positive nor negative in their impact on families.
BYU political science professor Jeremy Pope, a principal investigator for the survey, notes, “Technology is an area where people have a lot of worry.” Despite the lack of a strong consensus on whether tech’s impact is good or bad, anxiety persists—especially around social media, AI (or large language models), and phone use.
When opinions are expressed, the survey shows AI divides the public almost evenly, with 22% seeing it positively and 21% negatively. Social media trends more negative, with 34% viewing its influence negatively compared to 15% positive. Smartphones, however, received a relatively more favorable evaluation—37% say their influence on families is positive, versus 28% negative.
Protecting Children: A Unifying Concern
While Americans are divided over the overall impact of technology, one point of agreement is overwhelmingly clear: protecting children from harmful content online.
Concern about exposure to online pornography is exceptionally high, with 81% of respondents considering its impact on children “very” or “somewhat” negative. Social media also raises worries—73% see it as having a negative effect on youth, though to a somewhat lesser degree.
Correspondingly, there is strong support—77%—for government-enforced age verification measures to restrict minors’ access to adult content. A majority also favor regulations requiring parental consent to download social media applications and transparency from social media companies about how content is promoted to minors.
This push for regulation contrasts with parental behavior at home. The survey notes that only about 60% of parents with children at home actually set restrictions on the content their children can access, suggesting a gap between preferred public policy and private practice.
Parenting in the Age of Smartphones and AI: A Personal Perspective
Jennifer Long of Bountiful, Utah, a mother of four, embodies the daily balancing act many families undertake. With children aged 10 to 17, Jennifer and her husband enforce strict boundaries around phone and social media use: no social media before high school, phones off by 10 p.m. nightly, and parental controls on all devices, alongside an open understanding that phone activity may be monitored.
“The great thing about phones and tech is you know where they are — you can GPS them — but the hard thing is it takes a lot more parenting effort,” Long said.
She describes social media as “both great and difficult,” striving to raise her oldest daughter to be “social media-responsible” against a backdrop of constant influencer and advertising pressure.
On AI, Long voices both hope and caution, pointing out the challenges that arise when reality and AI-generated content blur. “AI looks real but it’s fake — it blurs that line,” she said.
Industry and Governance: Calls for Greater Accountability
Krystal Tristan, a Houston-based tech entrepreneur and founder of OneHaven—a digital protection platform under development—speaks to the challenges parents face. “I couldn’t find the tools to keep my kids safe online,” she said. “So I just built it myself.”
Tristan advocates for stronger corporate responsibility and government regulation to safeguard vulnerable users. “Other countries are way ahead of us. We can’t wait for Washington to do it either. No one can do it alone,” she said.
Survey data underscores this sentiment, indicating broad public support for transparency from tech companies and stricter rules for minors’ access, suggesting a cross-cutting demand for a more accountable technology environment.
Looking Forward
The American Family Survey of 2025 highlights a nation cautiously optimistic but guarded about technology’s role in family life. Despite differing views on social media and AI, Americans unite in concern for the wellbeing of their children, calling for protective measures at home and through public policy.
As technology continues to evolve rapidly, families like the Longs are adapting parenting strategies, while researchers and policymakers grapple with how best to balance innovation’s promise with its pitfalls. Ensuring the safety and healthy development of children in the digital age remains a top priority shaping conversations around technology’s future in American homes.
For more insights and detailed survey findings, visit the Deseret News American Family Survey 2025 section.
