Providing information and resources for parents, youth workers and educators to help kids navigate their digital world.
r/teenagers is a subreddit created by teenagers for teenagers as a place to share memes, vent about school, and share about the experience of being a teen. Read the article here.
A Federal University of Espírito Santo (UFES) survey of more than 2,000 adolescents shows that 25.3 percent are moderately or severely dependent on the Internet. Read the article here.
42 percent of teens think their parents overshare about them online. Read the article here.
83% of parents agreed with the statement “there should be robust age-verification controls in place to stop children (under 18s) seeing commercial pornography online.” Read the report here.
An Ohio lawmaker has drafted a new resolution that could declare pornography a public health hazard. House Resolution 180 also links viewing pornography to violence against women. Read the article here.
Teens’ icons and role models aren’t just actors and athletes anymore — now, they’re looking up to their favorite people to follow on Instagram and YouTube. Read the article here.
YouTube edged out Netflix as the preferred video streaming platform for teens, according to a new survey from investment banking firm Piper Jaffray. Read the article here.
As children and teens become more absorbed by the lure of posting and reading others’ posts on social media, it becomes critical for adults to step in, set limits and just clarify things, doctors urge. Read the article here.
Teens use dark humor on TikTok to cope with school shooting anxiety. Read the article here.
According to a new large scale study of more than 37,000 users, there is now a mobile device “typing gap” between today’s 10- to 19-year-olds and their parents’ generation. Read the article here.
Haley downloaded the app for fun. Now millions of people watch her videos. Read the article here.
But in all countries, “one thing we’ve found in common is the number of parents and teens who say they wake up in the middle of the night and check their phones.” Read the full article here.
Many grandparents want to know what they can do to protect their precious grandkids from today’s online dangers. Read some tips here.
Contrary to some common perceptions about advertising, a Deloitte study says younger TV viewers actually have a higher tolerance for advertising — especially for streaming services. Read the article here.
Six in 10 say they never switch off because they are constantly checking their mobile. Read the article here.
Pupils seeking support online are being affected by latest trend. Read the article here.
The endless endorsement of particular body images and physical attributes on social media is influencing how young boys view themselves in the modern age, according to a new book. Read the article here.
Esports streamers with millions of generation Z fans are the next frontier for brands. Read the article here.
In the gaming space, the Battle Royale category (a last-man-standing survival game) recently skyrocketed to prominence – most notably via the rapid ascension of Epic Games’ Fortnite, which has arguably become a recognized household brand. Read the article here.
A generation is growing up with online pornography. What impact is it having on them – and how should parents handle it? Read the article here.
Videos have surfaced on TikTok and Twitter of Amish users doing everything from riding a horse and buggy to Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road,” building to the song “Barbie Girl” and some who just answer questions about Amish life. Read the article here.
Teens with low-self control who excessively use digital devices and have friends who engage in questionable behavior could be more prone to hack. Read the article here.
Instagram has announced that it will restrict users under the age of 18 from seeing posts that promote select weight-loss products and cosmetic surgery procedures, while the company will also ban some types of ads that promote unrealistic “get thin quick” products entirely, reports the BBC. Read the article here.
A new study is warning parents that all that screen time may be behind a stunning rise in children who need prescription glasses. Read the article here.
The VSCO girl, named after VSCO, an Instagram-like app for photo editing and sharing, wears oversize name-brand shirts, wrist scrunchies, and puka shell necklaces… and more. Read the article here.
Those who buy the new phones will have the ability to take slow-motion selfies, which, it declared, are now officially known as “Slofies.” Read the article here.
A study published in the journal JAMA Psychiatry suggests that teenagers who spend more than three hours a day on social media are more likely to develop mental health problems including depression, anxiety, aggression, and antisocial behavior. Read the article here.
People who are part of Generation Z are the most likely age group to be influenced by the things they see on the internet, despite being the first generation to grow up entirely online. Read the article here.
Putting glue above your upper lip in order to make your lips look plump? Read more about the trend here.
Denying a teen a smartphone in 2019 is a tough decision, and one that requires an organized and impenetrable defense. Read the article here.
The September issue of the GAME ON! Newsletter from Nielsen takes a look at Borderlands 3 and more. Read it here.
The main reason teenagers are so tethered to their smartphones is social connection. Read the insights here.
Pornography is now available to anyone, anytime, anywhere. Read the article here.
Christians hope to address the ethical concerns raised as the country grows more skeptical of Big Tech. Read the article here.
A study set out to find if selfie-editing filters negatively or positively impact one’s evaluation of self. Read the article here.
Parents report that one of the top reasons they avoid discussions about pornography with their children is they are afraid they’ll make their child uncomfortable. Read the article here.
Because homework-help apps and sites can either give students all the answers or provide much-needed support, parents need to make sure kids are using these tools properly. Read the article here.
Researchers found that 8- to 11-year-olds who got adequate sleep and had limits on “screen time” were less likely than their peers to report problems with impulsive behavior. Read the article here.
Some Irish teens share their highs and lows about smartphone use. Read the article here.
The 15-year-old from Uttarakhand got so addicted to Taxi Driver 2 that she wanted to be on the move constantly and ran away from home to live her life like in the mobile game. Read the article here.
As digital reading habits rewire our brains, how will we process the Bible differently? Read the article here.
MTV is launching a Catfish-esque show to help those who have been ghosted by former lovers confront their ghoster, and many people don’t approve of the message the show is sending. Read the article here.
Generation Z now has $143 billion in buying power and is entering a back-to-school season with more purchasing happening on smartphones than ever. Read the article here.
Ever wonder what teens do on their phones all day? Read the article here.
A new survey from computer and smartphone maker Lenovo shows that pretty much all around the world, technology trumps parental intervention when it comes to helping kids with homework. Read the article here.
Generation Z has never known a world without the internet, smartphones and social media and their behavior is a constant source of fascination for companies who want to understand how to reach them with the next big thing. Read the article here.
American teenager Kyle Giersdorf won $3 million on Sunday in New York after taking the top prize in a tournament for the popular online video game Fortnite. Read the article here.
There’s a rise in cyberbullying nationwide, with three times as many girls reporting being harassed online or by text message than boys, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. Read the article here.
Social media is helping spur the e-cigarette epidemic among America’s teens, a new study suggests. Read the article here.
Spending too much time scrolling through social media and watching more television has been linked with symptoms of depression in young people — and a new study reveals to what extent screen time and depression may be intertwined. Read the article here.
New legislation is set to crackdown on a phenomenon called “nomophobia,” which means living in fear of losing your mobile and having no internet connection. Read the article here.
Having come of age in a world in which virtual “likes” determine personal worth, more than half of Gen Z and Millennials admit to daydreaming about life without social media. Read the article here.
Less than a year after its U.S. launch, the platform is poised to dominate the American social-media landscape and upend the creator ecosystem. Read the article here.
For a fee as high as $200, so-called “screen time consultants” are helping parents figure out how to get their kids off of their devices. View the video from Good Morning America here.
Teenagers and young adults are moving away from Facebook in favor of platforms like YouTube and Snapchat, a new survey conducted by Business Insider found. Read the article here.
Two forces are at work to make avoiding porn next to impossible. Read the full article from Harvest USA here.
Colorado’s Supreme Court upheld a ruling last week that required a juvenile boy to register as a sex offender after sexting and trading erotic pictures with two girls roughly his age, a split decision that highlights states’ recent struggles with applying laws passed in a less tech-heavy age. Read the article here.
University of Texas Medical Branch researchers say that when older teens are sexting – sharing sexually explicit pictures and videos over mobile phones – it may simply be a healthy part of growing up. Read the full article here.
Technology overuse ranked as the No. 1 fear of parents of teenagers in a national survey last year. Read this story from NPR’s Life Kit series here.
Thanks to ongoing brain development and increased sensitivity to dopamine (a neurotransmitter associated with motivation, pleasure and reward), teenagers are more likely to crave reward-based experiences. And, because their prefrontal cortex (the area associated with understanding, evaluation and decision-making) is still developing, social interactions greatly shape impulse control and critical thinking.
Read the rest of the article here.
Adolescents overwhelmingly prefer their digital detox during their time at sleep-away camp. Read the article here.
The wild-and-wacky short videos of TikTok continue to gain popularity among kids, adults, and even celebrities. Check out some easy tips from Common Sense Media to help you manage your kid’s Tik Tok experience by clicking here.
Millennials were the first generation to grow up with widespread access to video games, and they’re just as active gamers as they were when they were growing up—if not more so. Read the research here.
Now that esports is in high schools across the country, your teen gamer can justify gaming as “training” — and maybe even win a college scholarship. Read the blog from Common Sense Media here.
YOLO is the hottest app out according to the app store, but more people are realizing the negative aspects of the anonymous question and answer app. Read the article here.
But whether there’s a causal link, and in which direction, remains uncertain. Read the article here.
With the power of the Internet at their fingertips, parents have to consider an important question: “When should kids get smartphones?” Read the survey results here.
TikTok has been downloaded more than a billion times around the world, with more downloads last year than any other non-game app besides WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger and Facebook. And teens are driving much of its popularity and success. Read the article here.
People are sending Boomeranged solicited nudes to one another. Read the article here.
New research suggests such campaigns can harm vulnerable populations in ways not yet fully understood. Read the article here.
Four out of five teenagers with mobile devices keep them in their rooms overnight — and nearly a third of those bring them into their beds while sleeping — according a study Wednesday that offered new evidence that mobile devices undermine the rest necessary for peak health. Read the article here.
A monthly report from Nielsen looking at video game trends. Read the newsletter here.
Underlying problems may make some young people particularly vulnerable to what they find on social media, an expert says. Read the article here.
In a deal with Emerge Gaming, a developer of online eSports and casual gaming tournament platforms, Viacom’s Nickelodeon will launch NickX, an interactive esports tournament platform on Nickelodeon. Read the article here.
Nip screen-time excesses in the bud with summer screen rules that start today. Read this blog post for suggestions from Common Sense Media here.
Nielsen’s SuperData unit, its video gaming research business, says millennials ages 22 to 30 watch almost six hours a week of game video content, on such platforms as YouTube or the video-gaming centric platform Twitch. Read the article here.
From Common Sense Media: The latest addition to the New Normal research series explores how smartphones and other mobile devices have changed families’ morning and evening routines and in-person relationships. For the first time, parents and teens reveal their habits around screens and sleep, from where they keep phones at night to how often digital notifications wake them up (and why). Access the full report here.
When it comes to teaching children about money, chore charts are out, electronic accounts are in. Read the article here.
A porn studio called Naughty America is under fire from Snapchat after the app banned them from promoting themselves on the app, but the studio returned with new insidious ways to market themselves to users. Read the article here.
Our society is addicted to spectacle. How do we keep our eyes are fixed on Christ? Read a review of a new book from Tony Reinke, titled Competing Spectacles: Treasuring Christ in the Media Age, by clicking here.
Many children growing up today will discover that their digital footprint began in utero and didn’t stop there. This phenomenon has come to be known as “sharenting”—when parents share pictures and videos of their kids on social media, creating an indelible trail of digital bread crumbs. Watch a video report covering this issue here.
What parents need to know about AirDrop, the Apple feature that lets you instantly share photos, files, and other content and can expose kids and teens to inappropriate content. Read the article from Common Sense Media here.
The three teenagers regularly shared silly videos, trying to one-up each other and trusting the group text messages would remain private.
But one especially sensitive text did not stay among them – landing the teen who first sent it at the center of a novel court case over a sexually explicit video she made of herself and shared.
Read the rest of the article here.
My teenagers face a constant stream of information and a culture encouraging them to never unplug. No wonder our kids are under pressure. Read the rest of this opinion piece here.
People are literally risking their lives for the “gram.” So what could be so worth it to risk it all for a sensational self-portrait? Read the article here.
Time Elmore takes a look at the issue of teens using burner phones. Read his blog post here.
Reducing blue light exposure at night may decrease fatigue and mood swings, researchers find. Read the article here.
A generation that lives online is redefining dating; ‘We only met for 20 minutes and that was the first and last time we ever saw each other.’ Read the article here.
The massively popular dating app claims to block underage users. The only workaround? Lying. And everyone is doing it. Read the article here.
Selena Gomez is voicing her concern about the “terrible” effect that social media has had on her generation, and says she advocates taking breaks from the platforms. Read the article here.
The internet is a dangerous place for a lonely teen to be. Read the article here.
One South Carolina family confiscated multiple phones their daughter had gotten from school friends or elsewhere. Read the article here.
Just how much is social media use affecting children? Read the article here.
Today’s cyberbullies no longer rely on chat-based venues, such as texting or instant messages. Instead, social media platforms, sometimes used anonymously, are employed to strengthen mob mentalities and the shame of victims. Read the article here.
Netflix’s UK office explained a little bit more about how the lists work via its Twitter account on Thursday. Read the article here.
The singer says her children’s lives became dominated by the technology. Read the article here.
How should some recent experiments and changes on Instagram inform our leadership? Read the blog post from Tim Elmore here.
A look at esports and other video game insights from Neilsen. Download the report here.
One of the world’s foremost authorities on child mental health today warns that technology is threatening child development by disrupting the crucial learning relationship between adults and children. Read the article here.