The Supreme Court enters its teenager era

Like millions of American teens, Kailey Corum is savvy about the dangers of TikTok – but she’s also wary about government efforts to shut it down.

Like millions of American teens, Kailey Corum is savvy about the dangers of TikTok — but she’s also wary about government efforts to shut it down. The Virginia high school student uses the platform to catch up on news, listen to music and discover cooking tips. She chooses her words carefully when describing whether she trusts the Supreme Court to decide the fate of an app that 17% of teenagers report using “almost constantly.” “I don’t put, exactly, full faith into it,” said Corum, a junior, as she stood outside the Supreme Court after a recent tour of the building with her classmates. “But there’s not much personally I can do.” In the coming months, the Supreme Court will decide a series of blockbuster cases that could significantly transform the lives of the nation’s teenagers — potentially limiting access to vaping products, upholding a ban on transgender care for minors and deciding whether the controversial TikTok law can be squared with the First Amendment. The appeals have made their way to the justices — including two who still have teenage children — at a moment when lawmakers are engaging in fierce culture war fights over school book bans, transgender student athletes and the teaching of American history – prompting a flood of litigation that is already working its way through federal courts. The disputes are heating up even as there are signs that young people are especially disillusioned with Washington generally and the Supreme Court specifically. A Marquette Law School poll last week found the high court’s approval among Americans 18-29 stands at 44%, lower than any other age category.