The Screenagers Blog

The home of "Tech Talk Tuesdays"

Screenagers Blog Tech Talk Tuesdays

“Having calm, consistent conversations has greatly improved screen balance in my home and I have written hundreds of articles to help others through my weekly Tech Talk Tuesdays newsletter and blog.”— Delaney Ruston, MD Physician/Filmmaker"

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tech talk tuesdays
April 8, 2019
Video Games

Fortnite And The Downsides of Loot Boxes

Last week Prince Harry publicly shared his major concern with video gaming and Fortnite in particular. He spoke about having friends who are struggling with their children over the game.

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tech talk tuesdays
April 2, 2019
Away For The Day

Should there be a law against cellphones in schools?

Policies, laws, rules—who makes them? Who follows them? Who agrees or disagrees with them? And, how can each of us get involved in making them? These are critically essential questions to bring up with youth. And watch my 1-minute video of France’s new cellphone ban in schools.

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tech talk tuesdays
March 26, 2019
Away For The Day

Our latest survey results here! Cell phones in elementary schools

Parents are saying that their child’s elementary school has no cell phone policy because they assume that most kids do not have phones yet. But, we have found that is just not accurate.

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tech talk tuesdays
March 19, 2019
Creativity

Do you think adding an Instagram filter counts as creativity?

With many of our kids on Spring Break, now is a good time to think about helping them find things to do creatively online and offline. In a Common Sense Media report they found that only 3% of what kids do online is actually content creation, i.e. making videos, music with programs like GarageBand, writing blogs, etc. Today I write about 16 ideas to get them creating this break.

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tech talk tuesdays
March 12, 2019
Screen Time Rules

Screen-Free Zones, How to Encourage More Face-to-Face Time

People often ask me how much time is too much. Given that screens have become so pervasive in every place and aspect of our lives, I think that a better way to look at it is all the places and times you decide not to allow screens.

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tech talk tuesdays
March 5, 2019
Parenting Resources

To Track or Not to Track?

To track or not to track. That is the question. GPS and cell phone technology has made it possible to follow our kids’ every move. Just because we can, is it ok to do it?

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tech talk tuesdays
February 26, 2019
Online Harassment

Teen Sexting: What Are the Laws?

Sexting, do you know the laws in your states for your teens? Do your teens know the laws? Today's Tech Talk Tuesday looks into this.

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tech talk tuesdays
February 19, 2019
Social and Interpersonal Development

Why Talk to The Cashier?

We want youth to grow up feeling comfortable talking with people—whether that’s a cashier at the grocery store or someone or on a tram in the airport. This not only builds confidence but these simple acts have been scientifically proven to evoke happiness. Today I explore the science of this happiness trick... and how to get our kids looking up and talking to people around them.

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tech talk tuesdays
February 12, 2019
Homework & Schoolwork

Decoding the Distractions that Hinder Homework Completion

I hear from parents regularly about their frustrations that although they set limits around their phones and game consoles when it’s time to do homework, they then have found out that the child/teen simply resumes their social media interactions and gaming on their homework device, i.e. tablets, laptops or desktops.

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tech talk tuesdays
February 4, 2019
Screen Time Reduction Skills

Stopping Endless Scrolling

Some analysts say the majority of YouTube videos people watch are discovered by the suggestions the company gives. That can be helpful... and harmful. What concerns me, beyond the time suck, is that algorithms are defining our children and forcing them deeper into silos.

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January 29, 2019
Social and Interpersonal Development

How to Increase Maturity in Youth

Today I give tips and ideas for reaching beyond the screen and making a point of bringing your kids and teens to events and places they wouldn’t naturally gravitate toward. Also, I share with you a very short (6 min) documentary I made that few people have seen and just happens to be one of my most favorite pieces.

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tech talk tuesdays
January 22, 2019
Screen Time Reduction Skills

How to foster mental focus in our kids—and ourselves

How do we achieve maximal mental focus in an overly wired and wireless world? I explore how to prune one’s digital life, getting it down to those technologies that truly help you.

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tech talk tuesdays
January 15, 2019
Healthy Romantic Partnerships

Co-parenting tech time, working through differences

In a world where parents can't always agree on what's best (let alone couples who are divorced or separated), an unwavering joint effort can be harder than it sounds. Thankfully, there are a few methods that can make calm compromise more likely.

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tech talk tuesdays
January 9, 2019
Screen Time Rules

Creating Consequences, Hard but Necessary!

I recently worked with my teen daughter to set up a fair consequence around one of her screen time rules. I also include several examples of consequences from other parents.

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tech talk tuesdays
January 1, 2019
Screen Time Rules

Best Screen Time Monitoring Apps 2020

Happy New Year! I thought this would be a good time to revisit your plans to limit screen time this year and reduce struggles in your house. I’ve got a 3 part plan.

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tech talk tuesdays
December 25, 2018
Media Recommendations

23 Films to Bond Over this Holiday Break

All these films can inspire meaningful conversations with teens and a few of the suggestions are appropriate for younger kids.

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December 18, 2018
Screen Time Reduction Skills

$100K for No Phone? When does Bribery Work?

What incentives work to help decrease screen time for our kids (and ourselves)? Today we look at a contest a company is running that is offering 100K for someone to not use their smartphone for the year and whether these kinds of external motivations change habits.

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December 11, 2018
Screen Time Rules

Groundbreaking study discovers an association between screen time and actual brain changes

Big news has hit us today about brain morphology and screen time and I want to weigh in as we all try to make sense of the findings.

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