“I think I understand it now.”

I looked up from the book I was reading and threw a cursory glance towards my son, who placed the tablet on the table and looked pleased as punch with himself.

“Great. But what are we talking about?” I asked, eager to get a bit more than the standard one-word/sentence responses that teens gift us parents with these days.

“Oh, it’s nothing big. I needed some help with a topic that I was working on for Science. And I found the explanation for it.”

“What was the topic?” I nudged, trying to continue with the conversation.

“Doesn’t matter. I’ve got it.” He cut me off, clearly determined to move on to the next thing.

“Look, if It’s something I can help explain, I’m happy to. After all, that’s what we’re here for.” I said, my curiosity now piqued.

“No, Pops — it’s ok. I used this app that my friends said I should try. I’ve seen you use it too.” he replied with a smile, but the ‘stay in your lane’ intent was quite clear.

I paused my line of questioning at this juncture for a moment and reflected. Being a bit of a tech geek myself, I frequently use a lot of different tools and apps — some of which might be a tad too ‘cutting-edge’ for a pre-teen palate. I silently hoped my son hadn’t stumbled upon any of my more ‘avant-garde’ technological experiments.

“Erm…what’s the app?” I asked, cautiously, and if I’m honest, half-dreading the answer.

“ChatGPT.” He replied calmly, but with an air of new-found confidence. Yes, the one that many of us have when we feel that we’ve cracked open that Pandora’s Box of solutions.

---

I paused again. My mind was racing.

I had more questions — more of the practical kind — like how did he get access to it (he’s below 13)? What exactly did he ask? Did it give him the wrong response? How did it seem like he’d mastered it already when I knew of fully functional adults still struggling with the prompts on ChatGPT and others?

Instead, I resisted that urge and smiled. “That’s interesting. What did you find useful about it?”

It was his time to pause now. He tilted his head slightly and glanced towards the ceiling.

“I liked that it was like having a chat. I asked questions, and it just replied. When I said I didn’t understand, it asked me some questions in return. And then replied with different explanations until I finally understood it. And it didn’t get annoyed.

And…”

He paused again. This time it was slightly longer — probably a few seconds — but to me, it felt like an eternity.

“And…?”

I carefully watched his expressions. He seemed to be picking his next words cautiously.

“Go on…it’s fine. Tell me.” I said, with a smile (albeit a bit forced)

“Ok — don’t get mad. But it was more friendly. And explained it in a way I understood. Not saying that you confuse me — but, this was just easier.”

I let out a sigh.

I won’t lie — that stung a bit, even though it was perhaps the truth as my 12-year-old saw it. And I had to acknowledge it.

Multiple degrees, years of professional work experience and just being older (and supposedly wiser), doesn’t always make you a good teacher .

---

For the rest of the day, I replayed this conversation in my head.

First, I was quite impressed that he took the initiative to find an alternative digital solution to his problem. But then again, this is a generation replete with innate tech-savviness. Forget walking — this generation could Google before they could gabble.

Second, if I temporarily overlook those other “digital parenting dilemmas” from earlier, this conversation served as a reminder that none of us truly live as adults in the world that we are born into. With the pace of evolution being what it is, every generation has to learn to embrace the change — from the direction that your life takes to the tools that you have at your disposal.

I come from a generation that perhaps has the first set of adults who truly embraced technology as a natural extension of our daily lives in some significant way. For the newer ones, they have those tools from day one; so it’s only natural that they’ll be able to master them quickly.

We already live in a world where Gen Z (and others) are comfortable using a virtual version of themselves to support themselves emotionally and mentally. It’s not because they can’t find other human beings to talk with or listen to — to them, it’s just easier access, and almost second nature. It’s both intriguing. But also quite scary, because we still do not know the full extent of this development.

It’s a brave new world when our children are turning to AI for emotional support.

As parents, we’re grappling with questions that our predecessors could never have fathomed — like whether virtual friendships will make our kids more or less ‘sociable’ in the traditional sense.

We all see the conversations on every social and digital platform debating the million-dollar “Will AI take my job?” question. While that is certainly worth consideration, it’s important to realise the reality of where we are.

The world, and I suspect at some point soon, will be split largely into two camps. The ones that use AI to develop something new. Or the ones that use AI to optimise things that we already know and do, but make it more efficient.

AI isn’t a distant future anymore — it’s the living, breathing reality of our children and generations to come. They aren’t just using these tools they’re integrating them into the very fabric of their existence.

The question isn’t whether AI will change the world — that’s a given. The real question is whether we, as parents, educators, and society as a whole, can keep pace with our AI-native offspring.

Maybe it’s time to stop debating the inevitability of change and start empowering the next generation to navigate this uncharted terrain with wisdom, ethics and a healthy dose of human connection.