We fear the things – and people — that we do not understand far more than the things we do, even if the latter are much more risky. For this reason, it’s not surprising that people fear technology. Its newness is confusing and no one’s quite certain what to do with the promises it offers. Furthermore, technology allows us to see people who are different than us, the very people we are likely to fear. We fear the unknown. And technology is both an unknown itself and a vehicle to connecting us to greater unknowns.

Our fears are amplified when they intersect with our insecurities and challenge our ability to be in control. Nowhere is this more palpable then when it comes to a parent’s desire to protect their child. Much to my frustration, fear is the dominant emotion that drives our society’s relationship to young people. We are afraid FOR them. And we are afraid OF them. We’re afraid of all of the ways in which our children might be harmed. And we’re afraid of all of the things that children might do to disrupt the status quo.