The Screenagers Blog

tech talk tuesdays

Talking with our kids and teens about media, social media, and the immensely important issue of racial injustice is so critical right now. How do these platforms bring us together to find solutions? How do they fracture us and make finding solutions harder?

tech talk tuesdays

Here are some ideas of meaningful things to consider doing with your kids, or suggesting to them. From volunteering, to “Jewelry for Justice” to getting matched with a Sage, to learning about how local government works, and so much more.

tech talk tuesdays

We are experiencing an intensity that is hard to put into words, and we must help our kids emotionally and mentally navigate. Their social media feeds — which already were playing a major role in their lives during the pandemic — are roiling with taxing and painful posts of yelling, riots, death. It’s more important than ever to figure out effective ways to be engaged in our kids’ lives. Here are some ideas.

tech talk tuesdays

10 suggestions for improving study habits that when kids are doing their school at home, and homework. One is explaining the science of procrastination and the reasons for jumping into the hard stuff first can help. I cover this and much more today.

tech talk tuesdays

Today’s TTT is Inspired by a family who decided that because their school doesn't teach social-emotional learning they would integrate these concepts into their new normal of school at home. I give ideas on ways you can do this too.

tech talk tuesdays

Now with COVID-19, I thought it would be a great time to talk about what the heck mindfulness meditation is and why many people, including youth, find it useful for having more control of their focus, dealing with stress, helping with screen time issues and more.

tech talk tuesdays

One of my goals in writing weekly Tech Talk Tuesdays has been to help young people, through conversations, get more exposure to science in ways that are relatable and interesting to them — whether that’s about screen time, mental health, or other topics.

tech talk tuesdays

What are the potential costs of loads of certain screen time activities on our kids’ brain health and mood? Today we talk about ways to changes tech time that might help them feel better — even while keeping the same total amount of screen time?

tech talk tuesdays

Anxious feelings are understandably very high right now in youth given COVID-19. In today’s Tech Talk Tuesday I give you lots of ideas and resources to help your kids and teens with anxiety.

tech talk tuesdays

Today I am writing about ways that youth can safely help others via tech, and tech-free, during our world's intense COVID-19 crisis.

tech talk tuesdays

I believe that talking skillfully with the youth in our life about our emotions — past and present — and the ways we navigate such feelings, is one of the best resiliency teachings we can do as parents.

tech talk tuesdays

The intensity of all that is happening right now is so often overwhelming. Through all of this, I am continually moved by the kindness, love, and tenacity of young people. And it is about them that I write this right now.

tech talk tuesdays

I find myself at the frontlines of both the medical pandemic and the challenges of parenting. I will be working hard to connect with all of you and to help all of you connect as we move forward about COVID-19, loss of school and screen time issues.

tech talk tuesdays

When people get asked to rank their level of perceived stress, teens on average report higher levels than adults. Screen time and stress can be intertwined.

tech talk tuesdays

Four days from now, it is National Day of Unplugging. Now is a perfect opportunity to talk with youth about how they (and you) would feel about putting tech away for 24 hours for this National Day of Unplugging.

tech talk tuesdays

Recently I was with a teen who was jumping up and down as she exclaimed how she now had 10,000 followers and some 400,000 views on a video she had posted on TikTok. What does this increased chance of quickly getting a massive number of followers and views mean for our youth?

tech talk tuesdays

Why are a higher percentage of tweens and teens reporting depression symptoms than in the past? Today I want to talk about all the reasons why we might be seeing this rise, and I hope you will discuss these ideas with kids and students in your lives.

tech talk tuesdays

One of the central goals I have in my work is to help parents find ways to better give health knowledge and science literacy skills to their kids and teens. Today I share what medical providers use to help identify symptoms of depression.

tech talk tuesdays

Read my New York Times ‘ Letter to the Editor in response to a recent article that builds a case headlines that are confusing parents on what to do around screen time for their kids and the potential harm of these types of headlines …and provide a few solutions.

tech talk tuesdays

There are many ways our teens regularly experience rejection online. Today I give some ideas for ways to help them through those emotionally rough times.

tech talk tuesdays

I wholeheartedly believe that raising kids who can ask for help is one of the best resiliency skills we provide our children and teens. Today I write about many organizations and types of people that can lend support during emotionally hard times for your youth, and you.

tech talk tuesdays

One of the main ways that I stay grounded while raising emerging adults during our tech revolution is by reminding myself of the power of values. Today I go into what I call the Three C’s that help to guide my parenting.

tech talk tuesdays

Instagram recently started testing hiding Likes in the US. Today I explore what that looks like, and why they are interested in implementing this new view. Celebrities and others have talked about the positive emotional effect of hiding Likes. Are you your kids part of this experiment?

tech talk tuesdays

In SCREENAGERS: Growing Up in the Digital Age, you witness me trying to make a set of rules happen in our home. I made a contract, but I soon realized that to make it work, I needed to find ways to get my kids to participate in setting the guidelines.

tech talk tuesdays

Sharing podcast recommendations is something I do often with friends and colleagues. I wanted to share some of my recent picks for listening with the youth in your life.

tech talk tuesdays

I have more than 20 ideas for non-tech holiday gifts this year. And, many are things you can make yourself.

tech talk tuesdays

In online games with chatrooms, people with bad intentions can pretend to be any age. They can say they are a friend-of-a-friend as a way to enter the chat. Children are susceptible because they are unsuspecting, and by the time they may realize something is not right, shame and threats may already be in place to keep them quiet and scared.

tech talk tuesdays

We are making changes on Away For The Day. We are now advocating an away-for-the-day cellphone policy not just for middle schools but for high schools and, of course, elementary schools, too. Today we share experiences from trailblazers and resources for anyone to get the policy changed at their school.

tech talk tuesdays

How to promote shared discussions and shared experiences during this time? Thanksgiving’s themes of gratitude, empathy, and sharing are a perfect launching pad.

tech talk tuesdays

Have you ever felt like you were half-listening to your kids because you were distracted by your device? In a large survey of kids and teens, 32% reported feeling "unimportant" when parents used their cell phone conversations. In Today’s Tech Talk Tuesday I explore this issue.

tech talk tuesdays

Gaming, a new approach... how to help our kids and teens that just can't stop. China is setting curfews, but what can we do as caregivers to set limits in our homes... and why it's so important.

tech talk tuesdays

I thought it could not be possible, but for teens, ages 13 to 18, screen time has gone up by 42 minutes over the past four years. Teens now spend, on average, 7 hours and 22 minutes per day on screens, not including homework or schoolwork.

tech talk tuesdays

Today I'm sharing with you dozens of rules and solutions other families have come up with around how to keep devices out of the bedroom during sleep hours.

tech talk tuesdays

Today I explore the huge range of emotions that kids and teens experience from interactions online. It is so important to start a conversation about these emotions, so they can learn to better cope with painful situations elicited from internet interactions, be it small or big.

tech talk tuesdays

Today I share ways teens help reduce screen time for themselves. Everything from apps they use to hide it from themselves to purposely getting grounded from their phone.

tech talk tuesdays

Knowing how to lovingly and effectively be with your kids and teens as they experience difficult emotions and display challenging behaviors is immensely complicated.

tech talk tuesdays

Why the sequel to Screenagers? Adolescence is an emotionally turbulent time and yet there are many ways that schools and parents can give teens proven skills to better handle the turbulence.

tech talk tuesdays

There is a myth in our society that is pervasive and dangerous: challenging times need to be personal times and adversity in our families needs to stay private.

tech talk tuesdays

When your child’s homework assignment is online it can be an immense challenge for them to stay on task. Today I lay out several strategies to help.

tech talk tuesdays

I am excited to give some really important updates on how the Away For The Day movement is going and to offer new free resources.

tech talk tuesdays

Screenagers NEXT CHAPTER: Uncovering Skills for Stress Resilience, a new movie coming in October. Stress, Anxiety and Depression and the impact of screen time and social media has on our youth’s mental wellbeing.

tech talk tuesdays

Before I put on my clinical hat and tell you lots of things I have found interesting about sleep research these days, I want to mention what some parents I have spoken with have told me. They tell me that their kids have devices in their bedrooms and their children are getting good about not using them by a certain hour. And my response is YES! AND … although this is probably true, once they hit the preteen and teen years and perhaps a boyfriend or girlfriend comes into the picture, or say another drama has really hit the road, or… – resisting devices can become impossible. (Not to mention they are tired so executive function, i.e. willpower and self-control goes down exponentially).

tech talk tuesdays

Facebook and Instagram told The Telegraph newspaper earlier this month that they would ban images that promote or glamorize eating disorders, particularly photos that promote self-harm.

tech talk tuesdays

What do our kids think about video games in terms of fostering connectedness? And what ideas do they have about how a game can address helping people improve their lives? Today I look at some of the upsides of video games.

tech talk tuesdays

It is with such a heavy heart that I am sharing this piece I wrote again about how to talk to our kids and teens about horrible news. The internet and social media make it essential that we get in front of these conversations quickly.

tech talk tuesdays

I am impressed by the number of tweens and teens who tell me they feel bad about spending a lot of time on screens. These young people say things like "I hate that I wasted the day away."

tech talk tuesdays

It is very common for teens to have two Instagram accounts or even three or four. Their main, public-facing one is referred to as their Rinsta (as in Real + Instagram). Their second account is called their Finsta (Fake + Instagram).

tech talk tuesdays

People often ask whether reading on an e-reader counts as screen time. In today’s TTT I explore this from all sides.

tech talk tuesdays

Both day and sleep-away camps provide great opportunities for kids to unplug, connect face-to-face with people of many different ages and learn new skills.

tech talk tuesdays

Last week I wrote about how to reset rules for summer. Here are some rules that people have generously posted on Facebook in response to this question we posted last week: “What are the summer screen time rules in your house?”

tech talk tuesdays

Summer’s wide open time spans can heighten battles over technology use. This is the perfect time to revisit your family rules and see what’s working and what’s not and come up with summer guidelines.

tech talk tuesdays

We have 11 podcast episodes we recommend that will engage you and your family this summer while on long car rides, lazy days, hikes and runs and more. We hope these audio discoveries will spark discussion, debate, and action at times.

tech talk tuesdays

In some homes, managing screen time is the source of a lot of stress and tension. It can often be downright toxic. If you are at your wits' end about screen time issues, seeking the help of a professional coach or counselor can be beneficial.

tech talk tuesdays

Jennifer Lawrence was talking to the press after winning a Golden Globe she told a reporter to put their phone away. “You can’t live your whole life behind your phone, bro… You can’t do that, you know, you have to live in the now.” Today we explore the art of asking someone to put their phone away.

tech talk tuesdays

Are youth more lonely now than in the past? I often wonder if this is true, especially when you see a group of teenagers hanging out together looking down at their phones.

tech talk tuesdays

Myth: We do not know how screen time can affect our kids, so we don’t need to be concerned about it until we do. Fact: The truth is screen time can have positive and negative effects on our kids, so we need to be aware of what they are doing online and how long they are doing it.

tech talk tuesdays

Scare tactics might work for short term behavior change—but for the long term I believe “Share Tactics” work much better. Learn more in today’s Tech Talk Tuesday.

tech talk tuesdays

There is no question in my mind that, on average, the most challenging years to parent screen time is in middle school. It can take a caregiver on a brutal emotional rollercoaster ride. How we interact with our middle school age kids changes too. Today I share a few strategies that helped me:

tech talk tuesdays

The struggles around sleep and youth are what I call “Bedtime Madness.” At night, parents are tired and kids are wired. Getting kids and teens to bed is often a hard job, especially when you are trying to get them to turn off the screens. Today I give you tips and strategies to try to put an end to bedtime madness.

tech talk tuesdays

Last month in Marin County, California, police arrested a person who was selling drugs. What makes this arrest different than most other drug busts is that this person was selling drugs on Snapchat. Today I look at how law enforcement is monitoring these deals and how to talk to your teens about this.

tech talk tuesdays

Which hacks decrease undesired screen time? Today I share with you 8 hacks to help you, your kids and teens cut down on digital use.

tech talk tuesdays

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.

tech talk tuesdays

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.

tech talk tuesdays

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.

tech talk tuesdays

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.

tech talk tuesdays

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.

tech talk tuesdays

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?

tech talk tuesdays

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.

tech talk tuesdays

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.

tech talk tuesdays

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.

tech talk tuesdays

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.

tech talk tuesdays

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.

tech talk tuesdays

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.

tech talk tuesdays

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.

tech talk tuesdays

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.

tech talk tuesdays

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.

tech talk tuesdays

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

tech talk tuesdays

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.

tech talk tuesdays

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.

tech talk tuesdays

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.

tech talk tuesdays

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.

tech talk tuesdays

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.

tech talk tuesdays

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.

tech talk tuesdays

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.

tech talk tuesdays

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?

tech talk tuesdays

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.

tech talk tuesdays

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.”

tech talk tuesdays

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.

tech talk tuesdays

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

tech talk tuesdays

I often see siblings in parallel worlds for hours at a time, each in their personal screen silos. “The only time my sister talks to me is when she bangs on the bathroom door telling me to get out.”

tech talk tuesdays

“Does social media make you feel more or less depressed?” These answers and more a revealed in this comprehensive survey about teens’ emotional lives in this digital age.

tech talk tuesdays

It turns out swearing is on the rise and through all the media and social media youth are exposed to these days, they are seeing swear words like never before. That’s where our work as loving adults is required. Tips to opening a conversation.

tech talk tuesdays

New survey reports that 9/10 teens think they spend too much time online. See what teens are doing to curb their constant screen-time urges.

tech talk tuesdays

Changemakers are working to create learning environments free from cell phone distractions. Read more about the momentum.

tech talk tuesdays

Youth are facing these transitions with new forms of communication and self-presentation—yep, you got it...social media platforms. Today we explore the upsides and downsides in the age of constant contact.

tech talk tuesdays

Are you failing with screen rules? You are not alone. I have several suggestions to help you get back on track.

tech talk tuesdays

Parents share their summertime screen rules. What’s working, what’s not working. Parents helping parents.

tech talk tuesdays

Summertime brings a couple of long cars rides with my family, and when we have one coming up I curate podcasts that will resonate with my teenagers.