By ELIZABETH CLARK
Fred Rogers once said that when he was a boy and saw frightening things in the world, his mother would tell him, “Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.” Generations have carried that line for comfort. And it’s still true.
But in the age of technology, the helpers are harder to see.
When danger came as fire, storms, or illness, helpers stood visibly at our side — neighbors, nurses, teachers, parents. But today’s challenge is quieter. It hides in algorithms, notifications, addictive design, and the constant, invisible pull on developing brains. It hides in the sleeplessness, shortened attention spans, rising anxiety, the thinning of gray and white matter, and the erosion of face-to-face connection.
If Mr. Rogers was a child today, where would his mother tell him to look?
Are the helpers the engineers designing parental controls?
The researchers warning us about “technoference” and disrupted attachment?
The superintendents implementing phone-free schools?
The early childhood specialists begging us to protect infants and toddlers from digital overstimulation?
The teacher who patiently turns off the screen each time they finish a lesson?
The families delaying social media?
The journalists documenting what’s happening?
The funders building materials to help parents understand the risks?
The truth is: these are all the helpers. And yet they are often invisible — quiet, steady, rarely celebrated. But invisibility doesn’t make them any less urgent or any less necessary.
Because the numbers continue to move in the wrong direction.
Recent national studies show that most adolescents far exceed the recommended two hours of recreational screen time per day. Research published in JAMA Pediatrics reports that over 70% of U.S. teens surpass this threshold, and global reviews find similar patterns. Pew Research Center data shows that nearly half of teens say they are online “almost constantly.” For younger children, early exposure is now common: Surveys of U.S. parents indicate that about half of infants under one year have already been introduced to a smartphone or tablet, and by age two, more than 90% have some form of regular digital device use.
Our children are being tech-abused — not because parents are uncaring, but because the digital ecosystem is stronger than any one family. It is shiny, astonishing, intoxicating, and designed to be manipulative. Adults struggle to withstand it. Children cannot possibly navigate it alone.
That is why helpers matter now more than ever.
And here’s something important: many of the helpers are reading this newspaper right now.
People who read local newspapers tend to be more attuned to community issues, more civically engaged, more reflective than reactive, more willing to absorb complexity, and more committed to the belief that what happens to children matters to everyone. They vote, volunteer, mentor, donate, show up, and care about local schools. They are often grandparents, educators, longtime residents, and community steady-hands — the people who look out for children who aren’t even their own.
In other words: newspaper readers are already predisposed to be helpers.
And our community needs us. In 2026, our schools, employers, health systems, public agencies, nonprofits, outdoor advocates, and families will come together with Heads Up Mesa County — a coordinated county-wide effort to restore healthy childhood, rebuild connection, and protect kids from the harms of excessive, unstructured tech use.
We will need the storytellers and the scientists, the pediatricians and the principals, the caregivers, counselors, coaches, and classroom teachers. We’ll need nonprofits, neighborhoods, grandparents, and everyone who believes children deserve a life richer than a screen.
Mesa County can become a community where helpers don’t just react to crises but prevent them … where we rebuild daily co-regulation routines, protect sleep, reduce harmful tech exposure, strengthen families, and restore the joy of face-to-face connection.
Mr. Rogers was right: You will always find people who are helping. And in 2026, Mesa County will be noticing them, recruiting them, training them, and supporting them.
Mesa County’s helpers are rising. And if you’re reading this … you are likely one of them.
Elizabeth Clark, LPC, is a mental health therapist for children and their families who has been studying the impacts of technology on children’s development and on families. She has a grant from WCCF that allows her to talk with families about powerful technology use.
