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At a time when technology is rapidly evolving and screen time is on the rise, schools across the United States are scaling back classroom tech after early adoption efforts produced unintended consequences — including increased distractions and declining student engagement. At McPherson Middle School in Kansas, cell phones were banned four years ago, Fortune reports . Administrators say students then shifted their attention to school-issued Google Chromebooks, using them for distractions like watching YouTube, playing games, and even teasing classmates through school Gmail accounts. In December 2025, students had to give up their Chromebooks. The school has since moved to a more limited approach, using laptops only for specific, teacher-directed activities, the outlet reports. Now, unused devices sit in carts at the back of classrooms, while students take notes with traditional pen and paper. “This technology can be a tool. It is not the answer to education,” said McPherson’s...
Kimora Lee Simmons has built a multimillion-dollar empire spanning modeling, entrepreneurship, fashion design, authorship, and strategic business investments — but she hasn’t always been as calculated in her early business moves. One of Simmons’ earliest ventures was Baby Phat, launched in 1999 and initially focused on baby tees with bedazzled logos, according to People. The brand grew into a recognizable label in the early 2000s, with figure-hugging jeans and fur-hooded bombers added to its chic line-up. Kimora Lee Simmons’ Exit From Baby Phat Baby Phat ceased operations in 2010, largely following Simmons’ departure from the brand, Vogue reports . During an appearance on an episode of the “Aspire With Emma Grede ” podcast, Simmons reflected on how much she earned from the brand’s sale, which reportedly generated over $1 billion in revenue, per Vogue. “You live, and you learn. I probably made — I think we ended up selling … it for 100-and-something million dollars. I probably got...
Food vendors participating in Keith Lee ‘s inaugural FamiLee Day festival in May will do so at no cost, as the popular TikTok food critic and influencer has announced he’s waiving vendor fees. In a TikTok shared Tuesday, March 24, 2026, Lee said he “finally got approved.” “On what, you might ask?” he continued, explaining that the festival is now “a complete marketing platform for small businesses, local businesses, and staples of the community.” He added that “all vendor fees [are] completely waived” in what he described as a “first-of-its-kind” move — at least based on his experience. Lee said vendors will keep 100% of their sales, with the only cost being rental equipment. “Show up, sell your product, sell your food, market your business, market your social media, market where they’re going to see you at, market your location and everything, and make your money,” he said. @keith_lee125 Keith Speaks 💕 now let’s see what media talks about this 🫡 💕 @Familee Day ♬ original sound –...
Gen Z is reportedly the first generation to grow up with screens at the heart of their school life, and early research suggests it isn’t working out in their favor. As of 2024, the United States has spent $30 billion on educational technology , providing laptops and tablets to public school children to replace textbooks and support digital lessons, Vocal reports. While the goal was to modernize teaching and boost learning, neuroscientist Jared Cooney Horvath shared his concerns with the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation on Jan. 15, 2025. During a hearing about children’s screen time, he told the committee that the heavy reliance on screens in classrooms has coincided with declining cognitive performance among students. Why Gen Z Is The First To Underperform Previous Generations Horvath explained that Gen Z is the first in modern history to score lower on standardized tests than the generation before it, even though they have more years of formal...
About 70 employees will lose their jobs as Sony Group Corp. moves to shut down Bluepoint Games, according to Bloomberg. The Austin, TX–based PlayStation subsidiary known for developing high-profile game remakes for modern platforms will close in March 2026 following what Sony described as a “recent business review,” per Bloomberg. “Bluepoint Games is an incredibly talented team and their technical expertise has delivered exceptional experiences for the PlayStation community,” a spokesperson said, per the outlet. “We thank them for their passion, creativity, and craftsmanship.” Bluepoint Games was founded in 2006, then acquired by Sony in 2021, shortly after the November 2020 release of Demon’s Souls on PlayStation 5, reports Bloomberg. The subsidiary was also behind the PlayStation 4 remake of Shadow of the Colossus in February 2018 and Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection in October 2015, according to its website. “We are always striving to push our limits and surpass...
College educators are reportedly rethinking their teaching methods as Gen Z students arrive on campus with weaker reading skills than previous generations. Nearly half of all Americans did not read a single book in 2025, and reading habits have declined by roughly 40% over the past decade, Fortune reports . Gen Z continues to lag behind other generations: Americans aged 18–29 read an average of just 5.8 books in 2025, the outlet notes. How Professors Are Adjusting Their Teaching Jessica Hooten Wilson, a professor of great books and humanities at Pepperdine University, told Fortune that some students now arrive in her classroom struggling to read even a single sentence or engage in basic critical thinking. Rather than lowering expectations, Wilson has adapted her approach to instruction. She now reads passages aloud with students, analyzes texts line by line, and returns repeatedly to a single poem or passage throughout a semester. The goal, she says, is to help students rebuild...
The rise of generative AI has sparked ongoing debate over its impact on the workforce, praised for boosting productivity yet feared for displacing jobs and disrupting employment patterns. A new study from researchers at Stanford University’s Digital Economy Lab reveals that early-career workers — ages 22–25 — in AI-exposed jobs have seen a 13% relative drop in employment since AI’s widespread adoption. Released on Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2025, the coinciding report — titled “Canaries in the Coal Mine? Six Facts About the Recent Employment Effects of Artificial Intelligence” — uses high-frequency data from ADP, the nation’s largest payroll software provider, to track labor market shifts in occupations most affected by generative AI. “Employment has begun to decline for young workers in highly exposed occupations like coding and call centers, but older workers and workers who use AI to augment, not automate work, have seen job gains,” Stanford economist Erik Brynjolfsson, who led the...
As the world becomes more interconnected, the demand for advanced cybersecurity continues to rise, driven by increasing threats and rapid technological change. At AFROTECH™ Conference 2024, Prem Iyer, SVP of strategic pursuits at Palo Alto Networks, shared insights on the direction of venture capital, private equity, and mergers and acquisitions (M&A) trends in the cybersecurity space. From the stage, he offered valuable perspectives for professionals at all levels, from interns and investors to executives and chief information security officers (CISOs). Attendees were provided with a breakdown of key attack vectors driving CISO focus and how vendor consolidation can improve security while cutting costs, as Iyer emphasized the two most critical markets in technology today: cybersecurity and AI. “If you think about AI, we just started talking about it materially in the last two years, and right now if you ask Bain, they’ll tell you it’ll be a $780 billion to $990 billion market by...
A new app that went viral for helping women date more safely has hit a major snag. Tea, the women-only platform designed to crowdsource safety information about men, surged to popularity in July, hitting over 4 million users and topping Apple’s App Store, according to Complex. Marketed as a “space to safely talk about men,” the app lets women upload photos of guys, run reverse image searches, and perform background checks to identify someone as a “red flag” or “green flag” for dating. But just as the app was hitting its stride (going viral on TikTok, especially among Gen Z), Forbes reports, a massive data breach compromised the information of thousands of users. What Is The Tea App? Tea isn’t a traditional dating app. Instead, it acts as a safety tool. Per Forbes, users can upload photos of men they’re talking to, search by name or phone number, and ask the community if anyone has “tea,” or gossip, about the men. It offers features such as: Catfish Finder AI to identify fake or...
Editorial Note: Opinions and thoughts are the author’s own and not those of AFROTECH™. As mass layoffs hit various industries, Gen Zers— the youngest generation in the workforce—are growing tired of the traditional 9-to-5 workday. The conventional workweek doesn’t appeal to this new subset of workers who have grown exhausted with the daily slog of corporate life. Gen Z workers (the oldest of whom is turning 28 this year) feel stuck in their current positions and report feeling unfulfilled in their work. Nearly half of them are “coasting” on the job compared to previous generations, according to a CNBC study . For many young workers, their search for meaning begins with quitting their corporate jobs and looking toward entrepreneurship. Since 2023 , the rate of adults starting businesses has risen. In 2024, approximately 18% of business founders were from Gen Z, compared to 14.5% in 2023. Young people aren’t impressed with climbing the corporate ladder; rather, they are looking to be...
Editorial Note: Opinions and thoughts are the author’s own and not those of AFROTECH™. In the 2024 presidential election , it was reported that voter turnout among Gen-Z voters dropped significantly compared to 2020. There was also a significant uptick in younger voters who supported President Donald Trump, according to the Guardian . Overall, Gen Z appears to be leaning slightly more conservative than their Millennial counterparts, a shift largely attributed to the influence of social media and its impact on shaping political perspectives. Social media’s prevalence in our daily lives has only gotten worse over the years. People now spend the majority of their time online, doom-scrolling. Younger generations are less likely to get their news from sources other than social media. They watch YouTube videos instead of regular television and don’t listen to the radio in the same way previous generations did. Videos targeted towards young men are laced with misogynistic messaging and the...
TikTok has been at the center of many recent conversations. Despite its battles at Capitol Hill, the social media app is still one of the primary places Gen Z and others go for entertainment, recommendations, and news. Disney star Skai Jackson is among the people who have tapped into TikTok’s ubiquity. Jackson has been vocal about using TikTok and how it has impacted her personal life. According to a report from Blavity, the 22-year-old has a partnership with hair brand Cantu Beauty. However, her searches on TikTok taught her hairstyling techniques that would allow her to maximize the use of the products she promoted. View this post on Instagram A post shared by S K A I (@skaijackson) “I really feel like these products [Cantu] are so special because they took the time to answer everybody’s needs and deliver and put them into the product,” she told Blavity. She continued, “It’s just so amazing to see that there are millions of people in the world dealing with the same issues as me...
Google holds the throne as the leading search engine, but according to Insider, TikTok and Instagram might be coming for its spot. According to data revealed by the search engine, nearly half of Gen Z — whose ages range from seven to 25 — prefer to use TikTok and Instagram instead. “Something like almost 40% of young people when they’re looking for a place for lunch, they don’t go to Google Maps or Search, they go to TikTok or Instagram,” said Prabhakar Raghavan, Google senior vice president, per the outlet.
Maya Ray is what we call post-grad goals. During her time as a college student, the Gen Z entrepreneur brainstormed a business idea that would have her financially set post-grad. A month after graduating from Georgia State University, the alumna launched FYC Vending — a vending machine company — which has generated $119,000 in sales, according to Business Insider.
