SACRAMENTO, CA – The Assembly Select Committee on Developing Pathways to Purpose for Young Men, chaired by Assemblymember Valencia (D-Anaheim), held its first hearing yesterday at the State Capitol, examining how digital environments are shaping the development of young men in California. The hearing brought together six researchers, advocates, and technology experts who testified on how social media, gaming, online gambling, pornography, and artificial intelligence are competing for the time and attention of young men during the years that shape education, careers, and relationships.
Young men and boys are reaching the milestones of adulthood later, and in many cases not at all. Young men now make up the majority of Californians disconnected from school and work, including 58 percent of disconnected teens ages 16 to 19. Men account for nearly 80 percent of suicides statewide, and nearly 1 in 4 men under 30 report having no close friends, a five-fold increase since 1990.
“Across every measure that predicts a good life, education, work, friendship, and health, young men and boys are falling behind at alarming rates," said Assemblymember Valencia. "Yesterday, this Committee put the full picture on the record, from the experts who study these issues to the clinicians who see what happens when they go wrong. For me, this work is personal. I was fortunate. I had my father, my coaches, and people who showed up for me, and that made all the difference. No young man in California should have to navigate those years without support. The work ahead is restoring in our young men the belief that they are needed, as workers, as fathers, as neighbors, and as leaders.”
Assemblymember Alvarez (D-San Diego) noted that regulating device use only reaches part of the problem, and asked what schools can do to rebuild the basic social skills many young men lack, praising a panelist’s skill-building events that help young men practice everything from job interviews to asking someone on a date. Assemblymember Bryan (D-Los Angeles) spoke to how digital technologies have shaped his own generation and the one behind it, and noted that algorithmic feeds can steer young men toward harmful content and shape their attitudes toward women, not because young men seek it out, but because it is what the feed serves them. Assemblymember Bauer-Kahan (D-Orinda), connected the testimony to her own committee's work on AI chatbot guardrails, observed that parental controls on one device cannot stop explicit content on a friend's device, and emphasized that this is not a zero-sum issue. Assemblymember Nguyen (D-Elk Grove) highlighted the community-based organizations already serving young men in vulnerable communities and the need to strengthen that work.
A recording is available here along with photos. The Committee's background paper is available here.
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Assemblymember Valencia proudly represents the 68th Assembly district which includes the cities of Anaheim, Orange and Santa Ana. Valencia chairs the Assembly Banking & Finance Committee and the Select Committee on Developing Pathways to Purpose for Young Men.
