The War for Attention

Why Our Kids Digital Feeds Matter More Than Ever

The news lately reads like a script written by a drunk screenwriter on a deadline.

Charlie Kirk assassinated.

Free speech on life support.

Wars are dragging on in Gaza and Ukraine.

The negativity is real. The outrage machine is relentless. And if we’re not careful, it hijacks our nervous systems—turning our thoughts, our moods, and eventually our actions into extensions of the algorithm.

The Feed Shapes the Mind

What we consume is not neutral. It’s passion or poison. Every scroll, every video, every headline burrows into our subconscious. You can feel it when you spend a day marinating in the doom, your optimism shrinks, your worldview narrows, and suddenly the world feels darker than it really is.

For adults, this is dangerous enough. But for our kids, it’s catastrophic.

Their developing brains are being sculpted not by parents, teachers, or communities—but by platforms engineered to maximize outrage, addiction, and polarization.

If you unleash the digital feed on your kids, don’t be surprised when anxiety, depression, and cynicism show up as houseguests.

The good news is that the World IS getting better.

The data is clear: violence has trended down, life expectancy is up, and global poverty is lower than at any other point in history. Humanity is messy, but it’s moving forward.

The problem? That’s not what gets clicks.

Bad news travels faster. Outrage pays better. The feed shows you the fire, not the bloom.

Curation Is Survival

So here’s the play:

Curate your child’s circle. Surround yourself (and your kids) with voices that inspire, challenge, and expand—not shrink—your perspective.

Build a positive environment. Digital hygiene matters as much as diet and exercise. Garbage in, garbage out.

A Call to Parents

If you’re raising kids right now, you’re not just feeding them dinner and teaching them manners—you’re curating the reality they’ll grow up believing in. Guard their inputs like you guard your home.

The stakes aren’t just about screen time or silly memes. They’re about who our kids become, what they believe about the world, and whether they carry hope or despair into the future.

The world isn’t just burning—it’s also blooming.

Which side your kids see depends on the feed you let into their lives.

Curate wisely. The future depends on it. #Puddlejumpersbook

Brandon