The world that state Attorney General Dave Sunday grew up in is much different than the one traversed by teens today.
That’s something he is keenly aware of.
There has been a technological boom over the past several decades, ushering in the age of the internet and social media. And that has had a major impact on the lives of kids.
“I know this is going to be a shocker,” Sunday said with a smile to a small group of adults gathered inside the Berks County Intermediate Unit on Monday morning. “When I was a kid, we didn’t have iPhones.”
In fact, Sunday said, his youth was spent almost entirely out of the internet age, a technology that was only first getting started as he made his way through school.
“Kids’ lives have completely changed since we were kids,” Sunday said.
That leaves Sunday, the state’s top law enforcement official, in a tough spot. The internet, and more recently the prevalence of social media, represent a unique threat to children across Pennsylvania.
State Attorney General Dave Sunday holds a press conference before meeting with Berks County students at the Berks County Intermediate Unit Central Office, 1111 Commons Blvd., Muhlenberg Township, on Monday, March 16, 2026, to discuss social media’s impact on mental health. (BILL UHRICH/READING EAGLE)
They have helped usher in a youth mental health crisis, with kids bombarded by things like cyber bullying and unattainable standards.
As a leader in the state, Sunday said, he wants to do whatever he can to help. That may come in the form of prosecuting people who misuse the internet and social media, or perhaps by pushing for new laws and regulations.
But what any of that will look like will depend on what the problem actually looks like. And that’s why Sunday decided to visit the BCIU on Monday.
Following a brief session with the media, the attorney general spent about an hour speaking with 44 students from seven local high schools and the BCIU during a Teen Talk roundtable discussion.
The event, the second in a series Sunday is holding across the state, aims to hear about the dangers of social media and its potential impact on mental health from the very people it is affecting.
“This is about the kids, we’re here because this is about children,” Sunday said.
Speaking to the students, Sunday said he was hoping the discussion would help fix blind spots that he, as and adult, might have.
Forty-four students from Berks County high schools and the BCIU talked to state Attorney General Dave Sunday during a Teen Talk roundtable discussion at the BCIU on Monday about the dangers of social media. (BILL UHRICH/READING EAGLE)
“The whole purpose of this today is to help us so we know what’s really going on,” he said. “As adults, we sometimes think that we know everything. We don’t. Not even close.”
Sunday said that what the students shared with him will likely have an impact on what he and other leaders in the state do about social media and teen mental health moving forward.
That’s something Rosalie Perlman said she hopes is true.
The Berks Catholic High School junior said mental health is something she takes very seriously, and having a state leader interested in hearing her thoughts on it was a great opportunity.
“I kind of jumped at that chance to talk about mental health, to talk about something I’m so passionate about,” she said. “It was a helpful and productive discussion.”
State Attorney General Dave Sunday asks students gathered at the Berks County Intermediate Unit on Monday to help him understand how social media is affecting their mental health. (BILL UHRICH/READING EAGLE)
Perlman said she felt Sunday valued the ideas students put forth during the session, taking to heart their perspective on problems and considering their suggestions for solutions.
One of the major points Perlman made to the attorney general was about artificial inelegance, specifically ChatGPT.
She said she worries about people getting mental health advice from ChatGPT, saying what the AI bot churns out isn’t verified or monitored. She said she would like to see AI and social media companies be required to use human moderators to help ensure the quality of content.
“I think we need to start involving humans more,” she said. “Without humans you lose empathy and compassion, which I think are important.”
Devynn Brown, a senior at Reading High, said her focus Monday was on making sure Sunday really knew what kids today are facing.
“A lot of my points were to acknowledge what’s happening,” she said. “It’s important for adults to know that power of social media, what a different world social media is.”
Brown said the social media she and other teens interact with is one focused on spectacle.
“That’s a huge part of social media,” she said. “People want to see the spectacle, but then it affects you and upsets you and you can’t un-see it.”
Brown said social media encourages people to push boundaries too far, and that kids are often not equipped to understand the ramifications that come with that. That leaves them primed to fall into dark places mentally, she said.
Students from throughout Berks County meet with state Attorney General Dave Sunday to discuss social media’s impact on mental health at the Berks County Intermediate Unit Central Office, 1111 Commons Blvd., Muhlenberg Township, on Monday, March 16, 2026. (BILL UHRICH/READING EAGLE)
Dr. Sara George, BCIU assistant director of student services, said Sunday’s visit comes at a critical time, as social media becomes more and more pervasive.
“Social media is affecting their everyday lives and impacting their mental health,” she said of students.
That includes bullying, she said, and self-esteem issues driven by unrealistic standards they see on social media platforms.
“A lot of times they’re comparing themselves to each other, comparing themselves to what they feel they should look like or sound like,” she said. “And with AI, often what they’re comparing themselves to isn’t even real.”
George said she hopes sessions like the one Monday help guide leaders as they try to get a handle on how to make sure kids are safe in the digital world — which is world that can’t be undone.
“Taking it away completely is something that isn’t realistic,” she said. “We’re trying to figure out how you can navigate the platforms properly.”