Your teens need more human connection

By General Education Advice

Human Connection in the Age of AI: What I’m Seeing Among Connecticut Shoreline Students

For someone my age, I genuinely embrace technology. I’ve always been an optimist, and while I fully recognize the dangers of AI, I’m also eager to use its possibilities to help others. What feels ironic is that one of my first national media quotes—more than twenty years ago—was “Human energy is irreplaceable.” I said this while consulting for what was then the leading e-learning company, back in 2001, when online learning was still a novelty. Even then, I believed online education had enormous potential, but I also knew it would supplement people—not replace them.

Humans are herd animals. We function best when we cooperate and connect.

Over the last two decades of counseling and tutoring students across the Connecticut Shoreline—Guilford, Madison, Old Saybrook, Old Lyme, Essex, East Lyme, and surrounding towns—I’ve noticed something that is now obvious to most adults: students are far less social, and far less happy, than they were years ago. Much of their free time is spent interacting with devices rather than with people.

I plan to use ChatGPT and every other AI tool in ways that are positive and productive. But I’m also grateful that my own children—now 27, 24, and 21—grew up just before AI becomes yet another dominant distraction pulling young people away from human connection.

One surprising and heartening trend has emerged: students who initially come to see me reluctantly—often for math enrichment or academic support—frequently ask their parents for more meetings. I’d like to think my charm plays a small role, but the deeper truth is clear. Many teenagers are starving for real human connection. They want someone to talk to, someone who listens, someone who encourages and challenges them.

AI has tremendous potential, and I will continue to use it to help students. But nothing replaces the presence, energy, or impact of genuine human interaction. And for many Shoreline students today, that connection matters more than ever.

If your child could benefit from guidance, support, or simply a stronger connection during these disconnected times, we are here to help.