In our October 2026 Community Chat, and with members of the Caribbean tech community, Aaleyah S. Evans, a Bahamian cybersecurity professional and educator, and Shanelle McPherson, a Jamaican technology professional, educator, and community advocate, the panel discusses: Social media bans for children and youth: Are they a good thing? Why is digital literacy lacking among digital natives? Is it possible to balance technology use and social development among children and youth?

 

This episode is also available on SoundCloud, Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music.

As the Caribbean accelerates its digital transformation, a critical question echoes across the region: who is helping design the region’s digital future?

With young people making up over 60% of the Caribbean population, our youth are not merely passive users of smartphones and social platforms: they are our digital natives, creative entrepreneurs, and the first line of response to regional challenges. However, when policy forums debate regional connectivity, AI adoption, data privacy, and digital inclusion, youth voices are far too often missing from the table.

In this special episode of the ICT Pulse Podcast Community Chat, we bring together a panel of vibrant youth representatives to discuss important issues that the youth constituency should be weighing, cognisant that their participation in technology governance is no longer optional, but vital for sustainable Caribbean development.

 

Introducing our guests

Shanelle McPherson

Shanelle McPherson is a Jamaican technology professional, educator, and community advocate with a passion for using technology to create meaningful opportunities. She has a background in Networking and Cybersecurity and works in IT, where she supports technology operations and digital solutions.

Shanelle is also the Co-Founder of CodeED Virtual Learning, an initiative focused on making STEM and technology education more accessible to underserved and neurodiverse communities. She serves as Administrative Vice President of the Internet Society Jamaica Chapter, has participated in regional Internet governance and capacity-building initiatives and became the first Caribbean person to receive the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) Tarek Kamel Fellowship Recognition Award. Her interests include cybersecurity, networking, digital inclusion, community connectivity, and technology education. Through her professional and community work, Shanelle continues to champion innovation, learning, and resilient digital communities across Jamaica and the wider Caribbean.

Aaleyah S. Evans

Aaleyah S. Evans, also known as CyberGirl, is a Bahamian cybersecurity professional and educator with a passion for cybersecurity awareness, digital literacy, and technology education. She is the creator of CyberGirl, a platform focused on making cybersecurity and digital safety practical and accessible, and also teaches cybersecurity.

Aaleyah serves as Chairman of the Young Professionals Society under the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employers’ Confederation. She also serves on a technical committee focused on artificial intelligence in The Bahamas and contributes to the development of cybersecurity certification exam questions. She is also a Toastmaster and Rotarian.

 

The topics discussed

We kicked off this month’s Community Chat with social media and the concerns that are being raised globally about its harmful effects on children, and the growing efforts by countries to ban access for children and youth. Regionally, countries such as the Cayman Islands, Guyana and Jamaica are actively preparing policies and laws to ban access, but some voices in the youth demographic appear to suggest that, by doing so, essentially, we will be throwing out the baby with the bathwater. So, we posed the question to our panel: Social media bans for children and youth: Are they a good thing?

Second, and continuing our youth-focused discussion with the topic, Why is digital literacy lacking among digital natives?, as it is becoming increasingly evident that although our youth population are automatically considered digital natives, in fact, that may not necessarily be the case, especially in the Caribbean region. However, in having Shanelle and Aaleyah on the panel, both of whom would be considered digital natives, who work in tech and also engage with children and youth through their community work, we have an opportunity to delve more deeply into the subject and even try to answer why that seems to be the case.

Finally, we tackle the question: Is it possible to balance technology use and social development among children and youth? In some quarters, there are growing concerns about children’s cognitive and social development being hampered by their use of technology. However, it could be argued that, as our societies become increasingly digital, we must not only learn how to use it but also to leverage it, so complete isolation is not an option. But what, or perhaps where, is the balance?

 

We would love to hear your thoughts!

Do leave us a comment either here beneath this article, or on our Facebook or LinkedIn pages, or via Twitter, @ICTPulse.

Also, if you or a member of your network is interested in joining us for an episode, do get in touch.

Let’s make it happen!

 

Select links

Below are links to some of the organisations and resources that were mentioned during the episode, or otherwise, might be useful:

 

 

Images credit:  A S Evans;  S McPherson;  Magnific (Magnific);  Pascal Bernardon (Unsplash);  Magnific (Magnific)

Music credit: The Last Word (Oui Ma Chérie), by Andy Narrell

Podcast editing support: Mayra Bonilla Lopez