In 1992, Chris Pratt was just a bright-eyed thirteen-year-old with a bowl cut, far removed from the rugged interstellar heroism of Star-Lord. Recently, Pratt shared this analog relic on Instagram, not as a vanity play, but as a fizzing moment of support for his brother-in-law, Bob Faris. The contrast between that grainy, pre-selfie innocence and today’s out of this world digital saturation is striking. While Chris spent his youth navigating the woods, today’s teens are navigating a digital minefield, and through Pratt’s authentic family camaraderie, we’re finally getting a glimpse into the sociological blueprint of the “scroll” generation.
The bond between Pratt and Faris is rooted in the patient quiet of the outdoors; they are prime hunting partners and close friends who share a deep respect for the analog grit of their own upbringings. However, it is Faris’s role as a sociology professor that provided the heart and soul of this collaboration. By lending his celebrity platform to Faris’s landmark study, Pratt turned a simple throwback into a victorious moment for social awareness. It’s a rare intersection of Hollywood influence and academic rigor, using a 90s haircut to open the door to a daunting conversation about the “Being 13” project.
The reality uncovered by Faris and Dr. Marion Underwood is a daunting psychological shift. Their CNN study, which tracked the social media habits of middle schoolers, revealed a new normal where connectivity is 24/7 and inescapable. For a thirteen-year-old in 2026, the phone isn’t just a tool; it’s a scoreboard for a real-time popularity competition. This “social combat,” as Faris calls it, represents a prime level of stress that previous generations—who could simply go home and leave the drama at the school gate—never had to navigate.
Perhaps the most striking finding is the toll of curated envy. The research describes a “lurking” culture where teens passively watch the luxurious and often filtered lives of their peers, leading to a melting away of self-esteem. It’s a true fighter of a study that exposes how the digital “popularity barometer” can be devastatingly subtle, from the pain of a missed tag in a photo to the crushing weight of a low like-count. This fizzing pressure to maintain an online brand creates a digital burden that transforms childhood into a performance rather than a journey.
Reflecting on Pratt’s own evolution, he managed to move from that awkward 90s photo to beyond competition box office status by building a solid, patient foundation in the real world. He came out victorious on the other side because he had the space to be “just a kid” without an algorithm judging his every move. As the digital pressures of 2026 reach out of this world heights, Pratt and Faris remind us that while the landscape has changed, a rugged, analog sense of self remains the most striking way to survive the transition.