This Youth Day, we should ask ourselves, “What does youth empowerment look like in 2025, especially in a deeply digital world?”
Every generation interacts with technology in its own way, shaped by the digital world they grew up in. Baby Boomers learned to adapt to personal computers and email, while Generation X saw the shift from analogue to digital. Millennials have embraced social media, mobile apps, and on-demand services, making digital convenience a way of life.
Then came Gen Z, the first true digital natives, seamlessly blending online and offline experiences. Now, with Gen Alpha growing up in an even more connected world, how will their expectations shape the future of UX and technology?
Each generation approaches technology differently
For Baby Boomers and Gen X, digital tools were an add-on to their lives, a way to make things easier. Millennials, growing up alongside the internet, saw technology as essential for work, socialising, and entertainment.
Gen Z, having never known a world without smartphones and social media, expects hyper-personalised, instant gratification experiences. And Gen Alpha? They are being raised in an era of AI-driven interactions and immersive virtual spaces, expecting technology to integrate in their lives seamlessly.
This raises a key challenge for UX designers: How do we create digital experiences that cater to younger generations while still being accessible to all? Can we design interfaces that feel intuitive to digital natives while remaining inclusive to those who grew up with a different relationship to technology?
Today’s youth don’t “go online”, they live online.
Let’s be honest, you can’t talk about young people today without talking about tech. From WhatsApp chats to TikTok trends, mobile banking to AI tutors, digital tools are now part of daily life. They’re how young people connect, learn, earn, share, and grow.
And sure, digital products are designed to make life easier, faster and more convenient. What happens when the design itself starts shaping behaviour? How do these platforms impact the way young people think, feel and show up in the world?
TikTok is where youth speak out, share struggles, and build community. YouTube is their classroom, teaching everything from coding to activism. Instagram? A curated playground for creativity and personal brand.
What’s really interesting is how these platforms are sources of financial literacy. Creators are breaking down things like saving, budgeting, credit scores and side hustles in short, quick content. At How Might We, our UX research shows that social proof is the top trust factor. If it comes from someone relatable, it feels real, and youth are paying attention and listening to the advice given by their favourite creators.
The dopamine-driven feedback loop
But there’s a downside. These platforms don’t just offer access, they shape behaviour. Their design also brings some tricky challenges. Algorithms, curated feeds, and attention-grabbing features encourage constant engagement: swiping, liking, scrolling. While the benefits are huge, the costs show up in short attention spans, anxiety, comparison, FOMO, and cyberbullying.
This fatigue, or Oxford’s Word of the Year 2024: “Brain-Rot”, happens after too much fast-moving content. A March 2025 study, Demystifying the New Dilemma of Brain Rot in the Digital Era, found long stretches on social media, especially with negative or dramatic content, disrupt attention and drain mental energy. Endless scrolling and constant new content keep users hooked but lead to mental exhaustion.
In the TED Talk Battle of Time, Dino Ambrosi shows how digital platforms fight for our focus, changing habits. Each generation spends more time on screens, moving from passive watching to addictive, algorithm-driven experiences. Gen Z and Gen Alpha live where online matters as much as offline. Gen Z averages 6 hours per day on their phones, and interestingly, according to the survey by Harmony, 72% of Gen Z think their mental health would be improved if apps were less addictive. Social media, gaming, and streaming platforms hold their attention, sometimes at the expense of real-world connections.
So, what can be done?
As UX designers, educators, and tech leaders, we must move beyond designing for attention and start designing for impact. Engagement matters, but so does the long-term effect on people’s lives. Responsible design means creating products that serve people, not the other way around. And it’s already happening.
Countries like France and Finland are embedding digital well-being into education, helping the next generation navigate tech more mindfully. France has banned smartphones in schools for younger students, while Finland integrates digital well-being into its curriculum.
The future of UX lies in ethics, not just usability. As digital experiences become more data-driven, we must ask, are we empowering users?
The challenge is clear, build experiences that benefit both business and humanity. That’s the future worth designing for.