Toy Story 5 Trailer Tackles Tech’s Effects on Kids
Toy Story 5 Trailer Tackles Tech’s Effects on Kids
https://dailycitizen.focusonthefamily.com/toy-story-5-trailer-effects-technology-kid-childhood/
Publish Date: 2026-02-23 17:42:00
Source Domain: dailycitizen.focusonthefamily.com
Sheriff Woody, Buzz Lightyear and the rest of the Toy Story cast will return to movie theaters this summer to confront their most powerful antagonist yet — “tech.”
The trailer for Toy Story 5, which premiered last week, finds our favorite toys sidelined by Lily Pad, a tablet which captures their young owner, Bonnie’s, attention in a vice grip.
The clip, though short, illustrates technology’s effects on children with uncomfortable accuracy.
Before Lily Pad’s arrival, Bonnie uses her toys to act out a dramatic whodunnit.
Bonnie’s wild tale ends when she receives Lily Pad. The endlessly entertaining device monopolizes the young girl’s play time, prompting Rex, a franchise-favorite, to exclaim, “Extinction! Not again!”
Lily Pad’s disruption of Bonnie’s play reflects real concerns about personal technology’s effect on child development. Imaginative play is crucial to children’s early brain development. When tablets and smartphones eradicate boredom from kids’ lives, they lose essential opportunities to create, reflect and make sense of the world around them.
In the trailer, the toys confront Lily Pad for ruining their efforts to help Bonnie make friends.
Technology’s effect on friendship is a real concern, too. Many early friendships form around playing pretend, where children learn to communicate, work together and consider one another’s preferences — the building blocks of empathy, connection and social awareness.
Importantly, studies show children do not learn the same skills from observing people on a screen.
Technology also changes the way children communicate. Toy Story 5’s trailer features a short scene showing a group of kids sitting on a stoop, all focused on their own Lily Pads.
Personal technology infiltrates real world friendships in the same way. Though children may be physically present with one another, their communication often occurs online.
In his book,…
