The objective of this text is to reflect on what the intense use of screens and social media causes for children, adolescents, and young people today. Is digital culture making them smarter, more agile, and independent, or anxious, lonely, and fragile? With this question as a starting point, we propose a discussion based on the writings of various authors who address the constitution of those born in Brazil from the year 2000 onward. The text was developed from a literature review perspective based on two doctoral research projects focusing on related themes: the formation of contemporary youth in the face of techno-scientific transformations, and the professional development of teachers within a collaborative and investigative community, considering the new generational profile that is entering schools, marked by global hyper-connection. The results indicate that we have a generation facing dramatic changes in how they constitute themselves, exist, and live as contemporary subjects. This is a generation that dedicates excessive time to screens and social media, facing the highest rates of depression, loneliness, self-harm, suicide attempts, and completed suicides. Such a scenario compels us to question how digital communication and information technologies are interfering with the physical, psychological, cognitive, and emotional development of this generation. Keywords: Contemporaneity. Current generation. Technological artifacts. Human development.
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