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Technology is advancing at an accelerating rate. Schools are providing teens with a traditional education, but they are unable to keep up with this evolution. Limited individual computer accessibility, minimal hands-on training for teachers, and insufficient technical support are all obstacles many schools face. While the availability of curriculum continues to grow, the lack of time and skills required to select, integrate, and teach with technology continues to be a barrier. In addition, funding to provide updated computers, ongoing maintenance, training and support will always be a challenge. The result is an inability for schools to provide the time, space, or platform for teens to fully utilize technology, either individually or in groups. This lack of integration prevents teens from gaining skills and extending their abilities with technology. Therefore, teens miss the opportunity to find their passion with, or through the use of technology, including the chance to interact with others.

Across the nation, most schools have banned students from accessing authentic communication hardware or software, positioning school as a place where socialization is kept to a minimum, learning is teacher directed, and conversations are teacher, rather than student, driven and/or maintained. This of course does little to prepare students from effectively navigating the online environments they have access to and should be prepared to navigate outside of school.

Schools that have taken the "don't ask, don't tell" approach to the social media curriculum are neglectfully choosing to look the other way as students communicate, collaborate, and connect in worlds devoid of adults. The result can be that just as in the real world, without any adult supervision, students could be at risk and are existing without models for appropriate behavior.