Home Family First Technology Initiative

Family First Technology Initiative

Researching how new technologies affect families, with recommendations for how they could improve family life.

"Its social media recommendations have been adopted in at least nine states and turbocharged the national debate over protecting youth online”—Bloomberg

Researcher

Michael Toscano

Senior Fellow and Director, Family First Technology Initiative

About the Family First Technology Initiative

Over the next several years, the Family First Technology Initiative will produce original reports, develop model policies, and evaluate the effects of new technologies, like Artificial Intelligence, on American family life.

This initiative has a received a Heritage Innovation Prize for its policy work to make kids safe online, which has resulted in more than a dozen laws around the country.

Publications on Family First Technology Initiative

Brief

High Tech, Low Play: The Life of American Children

Brief

Resilient Children, Struggling Parents: Mapping American Parenting

Brief

Protecting the Family in the Age of Artificial Intelligence

Brief

A Future for the Family: A New Technology Agenda for the Right

Articles on Technology Initiative

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June 30, 2026

IFS Files Supreme Court Amicus Brief in Support of Texas App Store Safety Law

by Jared Hayden

June 24, 2026

Simulated Spirituality: How AI Is Shaping Religious Practice

by Levente Székely

June 9, 2026

Move Toward What You Fear: Freya India on Gen Z's Search for Love and Community

May 30, 2026

Life in the Third Oikos: A Conversation with Andy Crouch

by Nicole Williams Ruiz

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News on Technology Initiative

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August 5, 2026|12:50 PM

Study finds many young men feel lonely, disconnected, shut out of the American dream

by Katherine Matt, EWTN News

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July 23, 2026|08:02 PM

Will Trump’s Plan to Make Data Centers Bring Their Own Energy Quell Anti-AI Sentiment?

by Elizabeth Troutman Mitchell, Daily Signal

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July 24, 2026|12:28 PM

Why Today’s Teens Are Hanging Out Less—and the Simple Ways Parents Can Help

by Marilyn La Jeunesse, Parents

"A catalyst for the laws targeting online pornography and social media"-The New York Times

Video

April 14, 2026

Daniel Cochrane: Congress needs to legislate on artificial intelligence.

December 17, 2025

Technology & The American Family | Klavan, Bovard, Toscano, Pappin, Libresco Sargeant & Burtka

January 14, 2025

2 Minute Summary: Unprotected from Porn

June 21, 2024

New York Governor Signs First of Its Kind Social Media Bill Protecting Kids | EWTN News Nightly

May 20, 2024

2024 Heritage Innovation Prizes

May 02, 2023

Michael Toscano Breaks Down Utah’s New Age Verification Law

Podcast

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Why In-Tact Families Manage Big Tech Better

Hosted by Federalist Radio Hour, Brad Wilcox

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Michael Toscano: The False Idol of Technology

Hosted by Respect Life Radio, Michael Toscano

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Michael Toscano on Neil Postman

Hosted by First Things, Michael Toscano

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Can Government Protect Families in the Age of AI?

Hosted by Know Why

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Featured Book

Resilient Children, Struggling Parents: Mapping American Parenting

By Lyman Stone, Michael Toscano, Ken Burchfiel

Buy The Book

Release: 19/02/2026 ISBN: Format:

(434) 326-7583

[email protected]

[email protected]

P.O. Box 1502
Charlottesville, VA 22902

Contact

Interested in learning more about the work of the Institute for Family Studies? Please feel free to contact us by using your preferred method detailed below.

Mailing Address:

P.O. Box 1502
Charlottesville, VA 22902

(434) 260-1048

[email protected]

Media Inquiries

For media inquiries, contact Chris Bullivant ([email protected]).

We encourage members of the media interested in learning more about the people and projects behind the work of the Institute for Family Studies to get started by perusing our "Media Kit" materials.