Director's Wave | Volume 6 Edition 15

16 January 2026

Dear CIS Community,

Something to Ponder

“We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope” - Martin Luther King Jr.

I made the mistake of posting something on LinkedIn 5 days ago. According to their algorithm I received 2,505 impressions, 134 emojis and 10 comments. Is that good or bad - I do not know. I do know for sure that people are online. Will I post something on this platform again - who knows. As a user of several platforms I can see how people might become entranced by looking at a screen, checking responses, seeing what's going on online rather than taking a walk and talking with people face-to-face, perhaps.

According to the AI platform that I use most frequently the top 10 social media platforms by monthly active users for 2025 are…

1. Facebook - 3.1 billion monthly active users (Age Restriction: 13 years old)
2. YouTube - 2.5 billion monthly active users (Age Restriction: 13 years old)
3. Instagram - 2.4 billion monthly active users (Age Restriction: 13 years old)
4. WhatsApp - 2+ billion monthly active users (Age Restriction: 13 years old, 16 in some EU countries)
5. TikTok - 1.56 billion monthly active users (Age Restriction: 13 years old)
6. WeChat - 1.3 billion users (Age Restriction: 13 years old)
7. Facebook Messenger - 979 million to 1 billion users (Age Restriction: 13 years old)
8. Telegram - 900 million monthly active users (Age Restriction: 16 years old)
9. Snapchat - 800 million monthly active users (Age Restriction: 13 years old)
10. Douyin - 755 million users (Age Restriction: 13 years old)

A curious item to note regarding age restrictions is that although the minimum age for creating most social media accounts is 13 - up to 40% of people younger than 13 report using social media platforms and have accounts already, despite the age limit. With adults struggling to use social media platforms in a thoughtful, factual, kind manner - it does beg the question, how can teenagers, let alone younger ones manage safe, kind, use without falling into the trappings of potential addiction.

I am guessing that we all wonder to some degree, about the extent of AI usage. According to the AI platform that I use most frequently, teenagers tend to use AI platforms for…

1. Homework Help and School Assignments Homework - 49% to 55%
2. Entertainment - 30 to 42%
3. Language Translation - 41%
4. Curiosity About the AI Platforms - 28%
5. Creating Content as a Joke or for Fun - 20%
6. Seeking Advice and Guidance - 18%
7. Conversation Practice and Social Skills - 18% to 39%
8. Constant Availability, Accessibility and Sharing - 17%
9. Emotional and Mental Health Support - 15 to 33%
10. Romantic and Friendship Interactions - 8 to 12%

Indeed, the classic ‘3G notion’ of Guidance, Guardrails, and Governance come to mind when considering old, new, current and emerging technologies. My sense is that the wise application of the “3Gs” may be better than starting to look for John Conner 🙂.

Wishing everyone a pleasant weekend and stay warm as we have a cold snap of days of 26 degrees Celsius.

Sincerely,

Jim Urquhart

Director - Cayman International School