Dr. Katie Davis is Professor and Interim Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs at the University of Washington (UW) and Co-Director of the UW Center for Digital Youth.
For over 20 years, Katie has been researching and speaking about the impact of digital technologies on young people’s learning, development, and well-being.
In her latest book, Technology’s Child: Digital Media’s Role in the Ages and Stages of Growing Up, Katie draws on her career in research and teaching as well as her experiences as a parent and educator to bring clarity to what we know about technology’s role in child development.
Recent News & Updates
January-March, 2026
At the start of 2026, I’m giving several parent talks in K-12 schools in the Seattle area, including North Beach Elementary, Eckstein Middle School, Montlake Elementary, Moorlands Elementary, Mount Baker Middle School, and Eastside Preparatory School. Parents most want to hear about their children’s experiences with social media, gaming, and AI.
February 4-6, 2026
I spoke about ‘Decoding Digital Childhood with Tech Wisdom’ as a featured speaker at the Screen Time Solutions Summit.
January & February, 2026
I have been giving testimony in the Oregon and Washington state legislatures in support of proposed legislation to regulate AI chatbots for minors. This testimony has been covered by The Seattle Times, The Lund Report, and the Washington State Standard.
September 26, 2025
The Digital Youth Lab is now officially the Center for Digital Youth!
September 16, 2025
I’m serving this year as Interim Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs at the UW Information School.
July 15, 2025
I moderated a panel on child-centered design at the Digital Media and Developing Minds International Scientific Congress hosted by Children and Screens.
May 26, 2025
I was a guest on The Screenagers Podcast, talking about our lab’s research on teens’ social media experiences. Psychology Today wrote a related article about this work. Check out our related papers here (CHI ’25) and here (IDC ’24).
June 18, 2024
PhD student Rotem Landesman presented our paper on teens’ Instagram experiences at the ACM SIGCHI Conference on Interaction Design and Children (IDC ’24) in Delft, Netherlands. Read the UW News story about the paper.
June 6, 2024
Technology’s Child selected as the Foreword INDIES 2023 Gold winner for Science & Technology
April 1, 2024
My research group was awarded a Vision Grant from the Spencer Foundation for our project Developing a Community-Based Model for Equitable AI Practices in Education Settings
March 18, 2024
Keynote speaker, The Society for College and University Planning (SCUP) Pacific Regional Conference, Seattle, WA, Generative AI and the Future of Learning: Preserving Agency, Promoting Equity
March 5, 2024
Featured speaker, 2024 ParentEd Talks series, Technology’s Child: Empowered Parenting in the Digital Age
February 12, 2024
Guest podcast appearance on Tech Shock from Parent Zone
January 9, 2024
Invited speaker, Washington State Library & Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) Digital Citizenship Program, Applying the Two-Step Framework to Social Media Literacy