David Sakaki — Named as a panelist; identified as Boys and Men Online Director for the American Institute of Boys and Men.
Bina Kian Rajwaj — Named as a panelist; identified as K-12 Co-Chief Policy Director for Generation Up.
Dr. Alak Kanjoya / Dr. K. Online — Named as a panelist; identified as president and founder of Healthy Gamer.
speaker from American Institute for Boys and Men — A panelist begins testimony and identifies themselves as directing the Boys and Men Online program.
Alex — A composite example of Alex, a young man from Fresno, is used to illustrate how online life and the pandemic shaped his development. As a teenager, his prom and final baseball season were canceled during COVID, leaving him spending much of that period at home on screens. His online friendships through video games provided belonging and competence, but did not translate into the same kind of offline support. The narrative emphasizes that Alex was searching for guidance about masculinity and adulthood, while male role models were scarce in his life and the most consistent male voices came through social media algorithms. Overall, the example shows that digital products filled gaps left by receding offline institutions rather than replacing a thriving young life.
Luz Rivas — Referenced as having noted that one in four men under 30 have no close friends.
Mr. Bardouche — Announced as the next speaker.
Vihon Bardwaj — Introduced himself as representing Generation Up and thanked the committee for hearing youth perspectives.
Dr. Kay — Describes how social media algorithms targeted his insecurities during puberty, especially acne, and made him feel responsible for a natural process.
Dr. Kay — Explains that targeted ads and content worsened his acne-related insecurity and argues that young people cannot reasonably be expected to resist behaviorally optimized platforms alone.
Dr. Kay — Describes how fitness content and influencers shape unrealistic expectations for young men and lead them to buy supplements and routines.
Dr. Kay — Argues that social media exploits genuine interests and insecurities to create fear, anxiety, and harmful comparisons.
Dr. Kay — Says digital harms affect everyone but hit young men in more severe ways, in part because of a lack of positive male role models.
Dr. Kay — Argues that platforms reward dominance and contempt while professing DEI values that their content undermines.
Dr. Kay — Links online content to racist, misogynistic, xenophobic, and homophobic behavior and says it harms real-world relationships.
Dr. Kay — Says toxic masculinity discourages male friendship and emotional openness, making AI chat systems appealing but unreliable.
Dr. Kay — Warns that AI can reinforce existing beliefs and misinform users, then shifts to the long-term effects on young men's pathways.
Dr. Kay — Says young men quietly internalize limits on their futures, leading to disengagement from school, work, and opportunity.
Dr. Kay — Concludes that the issue should be addressed as a policy matter rather than by expecting adolescents to self-regulate.
Dr. Kay — The chair thanks the witness for testimony and notes the importance of hearing from his generation.
Dr. Kay — Begins online testimony by thanking the committee and saying government attention to the problem is important.
Dr. Kay — Says the problem has worsened because it has not been actively addressed and begins describing his own experience.
Dr. Kay — Describes severe video game addiction during college, resulting in a low GPA and delayed graduation.
Dr. Kay — Explains his path from monk training to medical school and psychiatry focused on technology addiction.
Dr. Kay — Says technology is changing rapidly and that responsibility for dealing with addiction is falling on individuals and parents.
Dr. Kay — Continues testimony about technology addiction, emphasizing that corporations invest heavily to maximize engagement on platforms.
Dr. Kay — Says his parents restricted his technology use when he was growing up and argues parents are now outgunned by modern technology.
Dr. Kay — Explains that he began teaching about video game addiction on Twitch.tv as part of his efforts to address the problem.
Dr. Kay — Recalls the rapid growth of his Twitch channel during COVID and frames it as an important discovery.
Dr. Kay — Says the committee is addressing purposelessness, disconnection, and addiction in young men, and that young men want to improve.
Dr. Kay — Says young men generally prefer healthy relationships over pornography and that Healthy Gamer focuses on providing help.
Dr. Kay — Argues that older formulas for success no longer work for young men because of debt, housing costs, and dating challenges.
Dr. Kay — Discusses dating success and low college/workforce participation among men as barriers to achieving goals.
Dr. Kay — Says influencers and grifters blame feminism and women and promote non-evidence-based solutions.
Dr. Kay — Calls for a macroscopic shift in how the problem is viewed and argues mental health is broader than treating mental illness.
Dr. Kay — Says mental illness treatment is primarily pharmacological, while medication and psychotherapy still have important roles.
Dr. Kay — Argues that many young men’s problems are rooted in purposelessness and directionlessness rather than a specific diagnosis.
Dr. Kay — Explains that Healthy Gamer targets transdiagnostic factors such as isolation through programs and interventions.
Dr. Kay — Says social and emotional skills training can improve grades and is part of the solution.
Dr. Kay — Describes teaching emotions and socialization through online platforms like YouTube and Discord.
Dr. Kay — Gives an example of a Valentine's Day event where participants practiced asking someone out, illustrating social skills training.
Dr. Kay — The committee thanks Dr. Kay and asks them to remain online in case follow-up responses are needed.
Dr. Kay — The speaker thanks Dr. Kay and continues the discussion by raising concerns about online gambling and gaming mechanics.
Dr. Kay — Referenced as having made a point about the mental health impacts of gambling-like behavior.
Dr. Kay — Invited to respond to the question about what else can be done besides banning gambling-like mechanics.
Dr. Kay — Referenced as someone who may have additional studies in mind.
Dr. Kay — Responded to the question about competing with pornography and gambling by comparing them to calories versus nutrition and saying they are hard to match on a dopaminergic level.
Dr. Kay — Referenced as one of the speakers whose comments prompted follow-up questions.
Dr. Kay — Referenced as having discussed basic social skills and purpose.
Dr. Kay — Referenced in connection with basic social skills, purpose, and preventing addictive behavior.