Screenagers Blog

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.

Coming up with unique gifts for the holidays to help promote off-screen time for kids and teens is something I have enjoyed writing about in the past and jazzed to do again today.

Thanksgiving is this week, and I have some ideas about how to support more face-to-face interactions and fewer retreats into all our individual devices.

Often teens will say things online such as “hey you are cute” and other compliments. Teens tell me that they would not say these things face-to-face but online it is fun. I have tips and more to guide and support them.

Schools experience pressure to have tech on their campuses from tech companies, administration, and others. Schools want to do well by their students and tech has been sold as a quick fix.

I encourage parents to share their feelings with their children. It is not about burdening them with one’s anxiety or sadness or other emotions. It is about naming feelings and discussing them. This approach has been shown to be highly effective in helping youth develop greater emotional intelligence.

Last year Snapchat introduced Snap Map, a cartoon-looking map with Bitmojis of users positioned at their real-life locations. Did you know that It goes one step further than just showing where the kid is, it also can virtually show what they are actually doing?

Spending more time talking with youth about all the cool things on screens paradoxically makes them more receptive to talking about ways to limit screen time.

I am a big believer in working hard to teach my daughter and son, and myself, to continually be better planners. The less we rely on the phone as the escape route for changing plans, the more we work together to get our plans organized outside of school time. So I have really started to “HOLD THAT TEXT.”

Thinking about the apps that people develop for social good is a great topic to discuss with our kids and students. The more we can help them think of tech as a tool, (rather than just an entertainment and social center) the better.

Finally, Apple's "Screen Time" controls are here!! Read about how to use them how they can help manage kids' time on screens.