Screenagers Blog

Our youth have complex social worlds, online and off, particularly now in the ongoing age of COVID, and they are vulnerable to the fact that they can’t control who is attracted to them, nor who they are attracted to. In today’s Screenagers’ Tech Talk Tuesday blog, I’m writing about how to help our kids with the universal human challenge of knowing when to accept what we can’t change in our social lives versus what we can try and change.

In today’s Screenagers’ Tech Talk Tuesday blog, I am sharing some tools that have helped my marriage over the years. I’ve purposely timed this post to coincide with Valentine’s Day. Taking the time to work on one’s long-term relationship — to get help, to be vulnerable, and to compromise — is an act of love.

Recently two friends of mine — a married couple — told me that they were just about to get their 13-year-old son his first smartphone. They explained that they told him that they would get him one once he reached 8th grade and did well academically during the first part of the school year. They explained to their son, I’ll call him Charlie, that they needed to set up expectations and ground rules around the phone, and they wanted him to write down the reasons he wanted a phone and why he felt he needed a phone. Also, they asked him to write some possible rules and ideas about good digital citizenship. They recorded the conversation and today I share some of it with you.

Today I offer some intriguing stories related to video gaming, and I am confident you will want to discuss with others — even beyond just kids because data reveals that more and more people over 50 do some sort of video gaming. Do you know what Cozy games are?

We are focusing on adults today. Teens have told me they get frustrated that so much focus is directed at them around being hooked to screens. They know issues around persuasive tech affect all of us. Our kid’s frustration often manifests as defensiveness and shuts down production discussions. So, to show them that this is truly affecting all of us, I am passing on examples adults have recently shared with me about the tech temptations they struggle with and ways they try to resist. The hope, as always, is you will share these with your kids and teens.

I heard the floorboards creak and thought it was my husband and daughter getting ready to go to the mountains for the day. I heard the front door shut loudly and figured they had left. I fell back asleep. Sometime later, I heard the floor creaking again. I yelled out, “Peter, Peter, are you still here?!” He replied, “Yeah, we haven’t left yet.” Read my blog to find out what happened, AND tips for better ways to manage cellphone time

For the next four weeks, I will be offering four ideas that can help tackle screen time in the New Year. This week’s approach is around the idea of “ time to clean the screen.” This should involve everyone in the home and pertains particularly to phones and laptops, but other devices like Chromebooks and iPads are perfect for this as well.

This is my 304th blog since I began writing my Tech Talk Tuesday in 2016. Of the 51 posts in 2021, today, I share the 14 most popular of the year. I also share the 5 most popular episodes of the Screenagers Podcast.

Today I talk with an 11-year-old girl about what she likes about the popular gaming platforms Roblox and Minecraft, as well as some of the uncomfortable experiences she's encountered with strangers while playing video games … and what she's done in such situations.

Two parents decided to reverse course two years ago and let their two teen boys know that their Xbox was getting put away, indefinitely. Why did they do this, and how did it go...

Today I give ideas to spark conversations about how we, as influential adults in kids' lives, have responded to injustices and tragedies throughout our lives (tiny and big) to strengthen young people’s mindsets that there are always things that can be done. Specifically, I focus on advocacy, volunteering, and donating.

While compiling the list of non-tech gifts for this holiday season, I so enjoyed the distraction from the complexities and uncertainties of COVID. This is my 6th annual Screenagers' gift list and brings 25 unique, creative present ideas for all ages.