I am a parent of two children. Like many families, I live with a quiet fear that has become part of daily life. We are raising our children in a digital world that did not exist when we were young. Screens guarantee connection, learning and fun. Instead, they often bring isolation, risk and exploitation.
As parents, we tell ourselves that supervision and honest conversations are enough. I no longer believe that honest dialogue can compete with a system backed by billions of dollars and designed to attract attention. Hailey Buzbee’s death makes it clear that parenting today is nothing like parenting in the 1990s.
Hailey Buzbee, 17, is believed to have left her home in the Enclave, a community in Vermillion, in the early hours of January 6, 2026.
My kids are 7 and 9 years old. They were still sitting on the couch next to me. They ask for help with their passwords. They show me their favorite games. Even now, I can see how quickly their digital world is evolving beyond what I can fully see or control. What feels innocent today won’t always be that way. Early exposure becomes early exposure long before children can recognize the danger.
Hailey, 17, is a junior at Hamilton Southeast High School in Fishers. Authorities said an elderly person contacted her online before she disappeared. This engagement begins in a digital space designed for private and seamless interaction. These spaces allow adults and minors to connect anonymously on a large scale.
Tech companies built playgrounds
Meta is leading this digital landscape. Through Instagram and Facebook, it aggressively targets younger users and teens, integrating social verification, private messaging, and ongoing engagement into daily life.
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The gaming network, run by Microsoft, Sony, Nintendo and Epic Games, is extending its reach into social gaming. Discord normalizes private conversations beyond the reach of adults. Google’s YouTube shapes attention and behavior at scale. Roblox invites kids into an immersive world built around interaction and consumption.
Fishers Police Chief Ed Gebhart speaks during a Hailey Buzbee press conference as Tim O’Malley, right, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Indianapolis Field Office, listens, Sunday, Feb. 1, 2026. Officials believe Buzbee, 17, a student at Hamilton Southeast High School, left his home in the early hours of Jan. 6. Officials now believe Buzbee is dead.
These companies design environments where children gather, connect and trust. They have built a modern digital playground where engagement is often more important than safety by design.
The time spent by the algorithm to reward. Recommendation system suggests contacting. Private messaging removes barriers. Voice chat creates a sense of familiarity. These traits are especially dangerous for teenagers who are still developing judgment and impulse control.
When the system makes it easy for adults to enter into hidden relationships with minors, harm becomes predictable.
Parents have to compete with trillion-dollar companies whose profits depend on keeping kids engaged and connected. Families are told to monitor devices and set limits. No parent can compete with always-on algorithms, cross-state coverage, or digital trails that disappear faster than local police can respond. Parents should protect children who are still learning the meaning of trust.
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Public health tells us that predictable risks require prevention. Seat belts exist because vehicles pose foreseeable hazards. The same principle applies to digital environments that expose children to adults on a large scale.
Haley’s Law Provides a Way Forward
Online grooming now occurs in game lobbies, private messages, and voice channels. It crosses state lines and delays response. Parents bear the hurt. Public systems are struggling to keep up. Missing teenagers are often labeled as runaways in the early hours of the morning.
Alert systems do not always reflect digital risk. Platforms include reporting tools and terms of service as safeguards, although these measures only react after the damage has already occurred.
Tim O’Malley, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Indianapolis Field Office, speaks during a press conference with Hailey Buzbee on Sunday, Feb. 1, 2026, in Fishers. Officials believe Buzbee, 17, a student at Hamilton Southeast High School, left his home in the early hours of Jan. 6. Officials now believe Buzbee is dead.
Hailey’s family and this community are responding with purpose. Pink ribbons appeared on fishermen. Thousands of people have signed a petition in support of Haley’s Law. The proposal calls for a pink alert to be issued when online grooming or suspicious digital contact is suspected. It also calls on Indiana schools to conduct annual education about online predators, grooming tactics and digital safety.
Her death requires us to confront the systems that shaped her vulnerability. Big Tech didn’t kill Haley, but it helped create an environment that made tragedies like this more likely to happen.
I write this as a concerned parent, and I know I’m not alone. Our children deserve better.
Dr. Raja Ramaswamy is an Indianapolis physician and author of “You Are the New Prescription.”
This article originally appeared in The Indianapolis Star: We are raising our children in a for-profit digital world | Opinion
