Providing information and resources for parents, youth workers and educators to help kids navigate their digital world.
Emma Lembke has teamed up with Brown University sophomore Aliza Kopans to found Tech(nically) Politics, a youth lobbying and advocacy group that pushes for social media regulation. Read the article here.
A high number of preteens and teens in the United States have viewed pornography and many have also sent or received nude or seminude photos — sexting — over their smartphones, a new study reveals. Read the article here.
Majorities of teens credit social media with strengthening their friendships and providing support while also noting the emotionally charged side of these platforms. Read the research here.
A newly released review comparing children’s screen time before and during COVID, shows children’s screen time spiked by a whopping 52% between 2020 and 2022. Read the article here.
Here’s what happened when a Massachusetts school decided smartphones were splintering its community. Read the article here.
The dangers of the Internet are real. Read the article here.
3 ways to help your teen cope with online hate to improve their grades. Read the article here.
Study authors from the University of Vermont found that the most viewed content on TikTok related to either food, nutrition, or weight largely perpetuates a toxic diet culture among young users. Read the article here.
Kids and teens are being targeted by a dangerous scam online called sextortion, a crime that occurs when someone threatens to distribute private and sensitive material if one does not provide them with money. Read the article here.
A mother is bringing attention to how emojis can be used as a secret code to purchase and sell drugs after she lost her son to a drug overdose. Read the article here.
According to the latest survey data from Piper Sandler, which incorporates responses from over 14,500 US teens, TikTok is their primary social app of choice, dwarfing Instagram, Facebook and Twitter, which all continue to decline in teen preference. Read the article here.
The normalization of adolescent smart phones has been so effective that years ago parents needed a movement to encourage families to at least wait until 8th grade before giving kids the internet in their pocket. That’s a good start, but read more here.
Nutrition-related content on TikTok is largely weight normative, and may contribute to disordered eating behaviors and body dissatisfaction in the young people that are TikTok’s predominant users. Read the study here.
Kids living with both parents spend 2 hours less on digital technology daily than other children. Read the article here.
While social media can help people feel less alone, using it to evaluate symptoms has several downsides. Read the article here.
Exploring the link between Instagram photos and body image. Read the article here.
Decisions about whether, where, and how much to share pose a dilemma for many parents. Read the article here.
For the teenage members of the Luddite Club, flip phones have become the norm. Read the article here.
The new documentary TikTok Boom, premiering tonight on PBS’s Independent Lens, explores the rise of TikTok by looking at its social-political, cultural and economic influences. Read the article here.
Gas is topping Apple’s App Store charts despite being limited to a handful of states. Read the article here.
For video game creators, game addiction is by design: It means success for their business. Read the article here.
Study finds teen drivers speed on 40% of road trips; text on 30% of road trips. Read the article here.
New research finds that people who constantly use social media are more likely to develop depression within six months, regardless of their personality type. Read the article here.
Molly’s story shines a powerful light on what more parents and teens are dealing with than you probably know. Read the article here.
In the 90s and 00s, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater and Guitar Hero were prime outlets for music discovery. In 2022, it’s League of Legends and Fifa that are shaping taste. Read the article here.
Cooking chicken in NyQuil cold medicine doesn’t sound very appetizing — and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration wants you to know that it’s definitely not safe, either. Read the article here.
Dan and Jackie Vecchitto created the internet’s latest obsession, with real-life trombonists’ firm approval. Read the article here.
The time spent during lockdowns scrolling through smart devices for hours on end could be to blame. Read the article here.
Using your phone or computer to unwind when the kids are around is linked to worse parenting outcomes, a new study finds. Read the article here.
Scholars disagree about whether video game addiction qualifies as its own psychiatric diagnosis. But as a family doctor, Leonard Sax has seen firsthand that some kids—mostly boys—are truly addicted. Read the article here.
Seeking validation from mental-illness groups on social media has created a youth epidemic of “Digital Social Contagions,” with alarming rates of addiction, depression, suicide and gender dysphoria. Read the article here.
A mom tried the new BeReal app for a week and this is what she thinks. Read the article here.
The main reason why a healthy person is unable to naturally wake up without an alarm is that they are not getting the sleep their brain and body need. Read the article here.
Young people are turning to TikTok to search for answers. Google has noticed. Read the article here.
Results showed that half-an-hour spent on YouTube in bed led to a 13-minute delay in going to sleep. Read the article here.
In “Who’s Raising the Kids?” Susan Linn’s searing indictment of corporate greed, tech companies targeting children are rivaled only by the lawmakers who let them get away with it. Read the book review here.
TikTok is at the center of where media matters to GenZ. Read the article here.
Nearly 40 percent of young people—ages 18 to 24—are turning to visual-based social media platforms like TikTok or Instagram for their internet searches. Read the article here.
The country could do much more to control this scourge, and it could do so without violating the First Amendment. Read the article here.
Many teens look at screens at bedtime, but some apps are more likely to keep them awake than others, leading to sleep problems. Read the article here.
New research has found adolescents who are active on social media are being exposed to content that could put them at risk of developing drug and alcohol issues. Read the article here.
Research has shown that young adults who use social media are three times as likely to suffer from depression—putting a large portion of the population at risk for suicidal thoughts and behaviors. Read the article here.
New research highlights that teens who engage in “digital self-harm” are 15 times more likely to think about or attempt suicide. Read the article here.
Maybe having iPads and computers become a regular part of the classroom isn’t the best idea after all. Read the article here.
Meta is testing yet another feature on Instagram that copies directly from a competitor. Read the article here.
A community promoting self-harm (specifically, “cutting”) is circulating graphic and bloody depictions of self-injury on Twitter. Read the report here.
Instagram’s Close Friends toes the privacy line by offering users a safe, semipublic space of their own creation. Read the article here.
The changes are rolling out to global users across platforms amid increased regulatory pressure over social media apps and their accompanying minor safety issues. Read the article here.
While TikTok occupies the time of 67% of teens surveyed for a recent Pew Research Center study, it’s another video site that truly attracts the views. (Sorry, Facebook.) Read the article here.
Teens’ digital struggles are part of a larger issue they’re facing. Read the article here.
New research by a team at Edith Cowan University finds many modern parents can’t agree on how to regulate their kids’ use of smartphones and tablets. Read the article here.
A closer look at topics around Intellectual Property and Tiktok creators, the possible renaissance of the battle of the generations, and a nostalgia-charged trend that celebrates our worst teenage pics. Read the article here.
We’ve been told — and taught — that mediums are neutral and content is king. But is that true? Read the article here.
About half of internet users ages 10 to 41 spend money on video games worldwide, and younger users are more likely to cough up. Read the article here.
Perhaps it’s a sign of the times, but nearly six in 10 (59%) parents say they often text their kids to come downstairs for dinner instead of actually talking to them. Read the full article here.
Youngsters who spend a lot of time in front of a screen are at greater risk of developing behavior disorders, warned a new study. Read the article here.
Facebook is now 18 years old, and Twitter is 16. That means for a new generation of users, those social networks are ones that were used by their parents. Not surprisingly, consumers are looking for alternatives. Read the full article here.
With its new AR innovations, the tech company wants to make concertgoing more fun and functional — and open up a whole new world of artist partnerships, too. Read the article here.
TikTok sleuths noticed that users were saving videos of 3-year-old Wren Eleanor in concerning numbers. Read the article here.
A new report from global consultancy Bain & Company shows that young gamers are spending more time and money in the metaverse, potentially paving the way for the future of an interconnected virtual world being valued in the billions. Read the article here.
Tim Elmore of Growing Leaders explores how smartphones may be making Gen Z more lonely than ever. Read the article here.
Compared with mid-2020, when connected TV usage skyrocketed as people stayed home amid COVID-driven shelter-in-place restrictions, total TV usage has returned to seasonal norms, but streaming has taken a much bigger seat at the table. Read the article here.
Instagram, TikTok and YouTube are now the preferred mode of news consumption for British teenagers, a report by U.K. media regulator Ofcom has found. Read the article here.
Young people are ditching Instagram in favor of apps that are more candid (and less toxic) as they seek out novel ways to connect. Read the article here.
Police in Colorado say the drug and fentanyl epidemic is moving to the social media world and many parents don’t know their kids are part of it. Read the article here.
Influencers are supposed to disclose their ads, but nothing happens when they don’t. Read the article here.
In June 2020, the younger demographic began averaging 82 minutes per day on TikTok versus an average of 75 minutes per day on YouTube, now the gap has widened even more. Read the article here.
Cyberbullying has a stronger impact on adolescent victims than “traditional,” in-person bullying, a new study reveals. Read the article here.
Two-thirds of the US population will use social networks on a monthly basis in 2022, with the largest influx of new users coming from Gen Z. Read the article here.
The majority of apps preschool-aged children use are designed to make money off their digital experiences, a new study suggests. Read the article here.
It’s meant to keep teens from dwelling on a particular topic. Read the article here.
A guest blog post on Defend Young Minds. Read the article here.
Facebook parent company Meta is rolling out additional parental supervision measures for Instagram and its virtual reality headset, expanding on a suite of tools released in the U.S. in recent months. Read the article here.
BeReal asks users to post one candid unedited photo a day. It can’t be “liked” or shared. There are no algorithms or ads. And teens are increasingly choosing a feed that is intentionally boring. Listen to the report here.
Although these platforms say they are doing what they can to keep kids under 18 off, they aren’t succeeding. Read the article here.
The CEO of Meta Platforms needs Reels—his short-form video feature—to fund his metaverse, and you can smell his desperation from Beijing. Read the article here.
Young people are learning how online content is wreaking havoc on their self esteem, and making it their mission to help other young people avoid the same fate. Read the article here.
The significant shift in how consumers engage with video content has forever altered TV viewing, and the groundswell of over-the-top (OTT) platforms and content now provides more choice than consumers can keep track of. Access the report here.
Since most parents don’t know that porn can be accessed this way, they aren’t checking for (or blocking) porn on an Apple Watch. Read the article here.
TikTok’s influential algorithm has the power to elevate talent from obscurity or low-level fame, and take older music to the top of the streaming charts. Read the article here.
The Wait Until 8th pledge empowers parents to rally together to delay giving children a smartphone until at least 8th grade. Visit the website here.
Many kids have a smartphone by age 12, and some even younger. Read the article here.
Emojis are an easy, popular way to share emotions in picture form via text message or on social media, but some seemingly innocent emojis are actually code for drugs! Read the article here.
Two Augusta teens are making headlines by doing something kids used to do all the time: going outside. Read the article here.
The social media platform has become the psychiatrist’s couch for Gen Z. Read the article here.
US mobile gaming ad revenues will reach $6.26 billion in 2022, up 14.0% from $5.49 billion in 2021. Read the article here.
Does a parent’s posting habits on Facebook really change the way they interact with their kids? Read the article here.
Parents, make sure your kids understand that a TikTok video is not authoritative, even it has 10 million likes. Read the blog post from Leonard Sax here.
Generally, the metaverse is a future combination of several technologies that make the internet more immersive. Defend Young Minds discusses possible concerns. You can read them here.
Facebook parent company Meta is doing everything in its power to get teens to love its myriad services, but a new survey shows the social networking giant is losing to viral short-video platform TikTok. Read the article here.
Investigators say that predators are seeking out teenage boys online and posing as girls their age. Read the article here.