Toy Story 5: Rethinking Childhood in the Digital Age

When Devices Join the Village: What Pixar's latest film reveals about technology, play, and the changing nature of childhood and contemporary parenting.

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The first Toy Story presented a tangible threat: a shiny, gadget-heavy spaceman who outshined an old fashioned cowboy. Buzz Lightyear represented change, but he was still a toy.

Toy Story 5 introduces a far more confronting antagonist- not another toy, but a generational shift:

Technology.

At its core, the film isn't just about devices. It skilfully captures the significance of childhood, connection, and depicts what happens when screens begin replacing the core experiences that once shaped social development.

Bonnie, the film's central character, struggles to form meaningful friendships. Her experience mirrors concerns many people are now discussing across all spheres- children are spending less time engaging face-to-face and more time interacting through screens.

There was once an expectation that childhood involved knocking on the neighbour's door, inventing games, exploring outside, and learning social skills through trial and error. I do note this is not a justification for unsupervised children, that was an issue in and of itself, but rather an appreciation of the value of genuine human interaction during a child’s formative years. For many, this is the source of true nostalgia.

Early in the film, Bonnie's parents gift her an iPad-adjacent device. They hesitate before making the decision, acknowledging the uncertainty many modern parents face.

Many people confidently say, "When I have children, they'll grow up in a no-device household." While that's certainly possible for some families, I don't think it's a realistic expectation for most.

Children's interests and social conversations are now increasingly shaped by digital culture. Current trends such as “6–7” and Labubus have gained widespread attention through social media, permeating children’s conversations and interactions outside of the digital world.

As an older sister, I understand the importance of children bonding over such things. I often encourage my younger sister to take part in trends I believe are age-appropriate, currently acting as the main sponsor of my sister’s NeeDoh collection. For me personally, I encourage such things within limits; overly repetitive or meaningless statements, as well as overconsumption, are the red line.

As an educator, I saw firsthand how these trends became a form of social currency. They often dictated who was included, who was considered "cool," and who was left on the outside looking in. Children weren't simply talking about the latest trend; they were using it as a way to establish belonging within their peer groups.

I remember experiencing this myself, thinking back to 2015. Ah, Year 5… If someone didn't understand the "21" meme or didn't own a Loom Bands kit, they could quickly become the odd one out. These references may seem trivial to adults, but for children they often carry significant social weight. Being able to participate in these shared cultural moments can influence a child's sense of confidence, it can even affect how motivated they are to attend school.

This places considerable pressure on children as they navigate one of the most important developmental tasks of childhood: discovering who they are while simultaneously trying to find where they belong.

For parents and carers, this creates an incredibly difficult dilemma. Choosing to completely restrict access to digital media may leave a child feeling excluded from their peers and resentful of the boundaries set at home. Yet allowing unrestricted access introduces children to an online environment that is both dangerous and highly unregulated. 

There is no simple solution.

For that reason, I will always approach this conversation without judgement. Whether I am a psychologist or an educator, my intention remains the same.

Parenting has never come with a handbook, and today's parents are navigating challenges no previous generation has faced. Rather than criticising parents for the choices they make, our responsibility is to support them by providing evidence-based guidance, advocating for digital literacy and recognising that raising children in the digital age requires continual adaptation from all stakeholders.

Technology is woven into everyday life. Parents themselves are navigating the same digital landscape as their children while concurrently trying to understand rapid advances in artificial intelligence.

Devices can provide children with education and entertainment, particularly in households where there may be language barriers or reduced literacy, or where families are unable to access tutoring services. They are also an incredibly effective way to occupy children when parents are overwhelmed by the competing demands of modern life.

For many families residing in cities like Sydney, where the rising cost of living often means both parents are working or juggling multiple responsibilities, screens have become a practical necessity. In many ways, they are the ultimate delegate.

It is also important to recognise that, although technology can expose children to significant risks, these risks can be reduced through informed and active supervision. When parents and carers are digitally proficient, they can make use of parental controls, screen-time limits, and app restrictions to create a safer online environment for children. Like any tool, technology is shaped by how we choose to use it.

Beyond its everyday uses, some of technology’s most exciting possibilities lie in its application for children with complex communication needs. Advances in Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) technologies already allow many non-verbal/speaking individuals to communicate in ways that were unimaginable only decades ago. As artificial intelligence continues to evolve, I am hopeful that we will see further innovations that make such communication even more accessible.

So, the matter at hand needs to be considered with objectivity. Technology has its benefits and its downfalls. While I personally believe the current trajectory of children's relationship with technology is ultimately harmful, acknowledging its risks should not prevent us from recognising the remarkable opportunities it creates. Both realities can exist at the same time.

The film presents this question through one particularly reflective scene.

Bonnie attends a sleepover- a setting traditionally associated with excitement as children gather to play games, share stories and get to stay up past their bedtimes. Instead, the children sit together, absorbed in their own devices and barely speak to one another. 

From a developmental perspective, this raises important concerns. Childhood is when young people begin learning what friendship looks, experiencing firsthand how meaningful relationships are formed and how they are preserved through reciprocated efforts. If social interaction is increasingly replaced by shared screen time, children may begin to conflate simply sitting beside one another with genuine play and connection.

Children learn through cooperative play: building imaginary worlds together, solving problems, communicating, and navigating conflict. These interactions form the foundation of healthy social development, fostering empathy and open communication while also encouraging critical thinking.

Of course, cooperative play can also occur in digital spaces. Games such as Minecraft encourage creative expression and collaboration. Reflecting on my own childhood, when I too was learning to navigate the digital landscape, Minecraft served as a tool for interactive play. My family friends and I would gather to bring our vision of a dream house to life, working together or dividing responsibilities- one child collecting wood, another mining, and another constructing a safe shelter.

However, Toy Story 5 presents a different reality. Instead, the children engage in something closer to parallel play.

They exist beside one another, but not with one another.

While parallel play is entirely developmentally appropriate for toddlers, relying on it during later childhood may reduce opportunities to develop the increasingly complex social skills needed throughout adolescence and adulthood.

The film also explores another consequence of children's digital lives: cyberbullying.

Without her parents' knowledge, Bonnie becomes the target of ridicule because she still enjoys playing with toys- something entirely appropriate for an eight-year-old.

It is a powerful commentary on how normalising device use can accelerate such social pressures. Children are exposed to older peer expectations much earlier than previous generations, creating an environment where being a child can itself become something to be embarrassed about. Within this culture, playing with toys becomes an anomaly rather than the developmental norm it has always been.

This is particularly striking when we consider that toys have accompanied human childhood for thousands of years. Archaeological discoveries have uncovered dolls, rattles, and toy animals from ancient civilisations such as Ancient Egypt, reminding us that play has long been a defining feature of childhood.

This raises an interesting developmental question.

Psychologists such as Jean Piaget developed theories of cognitive development long before the digital revolution. His stages remain enormously influential in both psychology and education today.

But if childhood itself is changing, we should also be asking whether the environments children develop within have changed enough to influence how those developmental theories present in practice. The underlying biology may remain the same, but the context of our contemporary society challenges how we interpret developmental benchmarks and the experiences through which they are achieved. 

This is a separate consideration from the well-established influence of factors such as the social determinants, demographics, and language barriers. Rather, it asks whether the rapid integration of digital technology into childhood has fundamentally altered the developmental context itself.

Perhaps the most impactful part of the film comes in its ending.

Bonnie finally makes a genuine friend, Blaze. Whenever the children abandon their devices and engage in pretend play, they are transported into worlds built entirely by their imaginations- a wedding that turns into a spy plot, a maid of honour mysteriously poisoned. Together, they create stories, solve problems, and express themselves without fear of embarrassment. 

Even the twins who initially laughed at Bonnie's attempts to befriend them earlier in the film are eventually drawn into that shared world of imagination.

Films such as Toy Story 5 are presented through the lens of entertainment, yet their underlying themes speak directly to audiences, prompting us to question where we are heading as a society.

Technology is not going away. If anything, it will become more deeply embedded in our everyday lives. While our instinct is often to resist rapid change, history reminds us that innovation continues regardless. Rather than resisting this reality, we should seek to understand how these unprecedented advancements will shape not only our own lives, but the childhoods of future generations.

That places an enormous responsibility on us.

They say it takes a village to raise a child. We have no choice but to mediate the role of technology in our lives- to invite it, with caution, into our villages. We must accept its existence while remaining firm in our commitment to preserving the humanity of childhood, allowing children to experience boredom, curiosity and conversation.

The toys in the film collectively dedicate their purpose to this mission. Funny enough, they set a good example. Every one of them plays a different role, just as we adults do.

They represent the parents, families, educators and multidisciplinary teams that work hard to support children as they grow.

As such, Toy Story 5 proved to be far more than a sequel keeping a beloved franchise alive. It bridged the generation that grew up with the original film to the one growing up with it today, inviting us to reflect on how technology continues to shape modern childhood while reminding us of one fundamental truth: no matter how much the world changes, we are, and always will be, wired for human connection.