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"

all posts

(
500+
)
Thank you! Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.
Thank youpre! Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.
Speech Bubble icon
tech talk tuesdays
September 24, 2019
Mental Health

Building Community to Support Emotional Wellbeing

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.

READ MORE >
Speech Bubble icon
tech talk tuesdays
September 17, 2019
Homework & Schoolwork

Online Homework - The Biggest Challenge

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.

READ MORE >
Speech Bubble icon
tech talk tuesdays
September 10, 2019
Away For The Day

Away For The Day News

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.

READ MORE >
Speech Bubble icon
tech talk tuesdays
September 3, 2019
Mental Health

SCREENAGERS has a NEW MOVIE!

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.

READ MORE >
Speech Bubble icon
tech talk tuesdays
August 27, 2019
Sleep

Back-to-school: Time to set an electronic curfew

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).

READ MORE >
Speech Bubble icon
tech talk tuesdays
August 20, 2019
Creativity

Major Win for Smart Screen Time

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.

READ MORE >
Speech Bubble icon
tech talk tuesdays
August 13, 2019
Video Games

Creating Video Games for Bonding

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.

READ MORE >
Speech Bubble icon
tech talk tuesdays
August 6, 2019
Media Literacy

How to Talk about Scary and Tragic News with your Kids

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.

READ MORE >
Speech Bubble icon
tech talk tuesdays
July 30, 2019
Screen Time Rules

When Wasted Time Hurts

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."

READ MORE >
Speech Bubble icon
tech talk tuesdays
July 22, 2019
Social Media

Rinsta vs. Insta, Why do Teens Have So Many IG Accounts?

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).

READ MORE >
Speech Bubble icon
tech talk tuesdays
July 16, 2019
Reading

E-Readers or Books, What is Best?

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

READ MORE >
Speech Bubble icon
tech talk tuesdays
July 9, 2019
Screen Time Rules

Camp Phone-less

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.

READ MORE >
Speech Bubble icon
tech talk tuesdays
July 2, 2019
Screen Time Rules

People Share their Summer Screen Time Rules

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?”

READ MORE >
Speech Bubble icon
tech talk tuesdays
June 25, 2019
Parenting Resources

Summer RESET: Tons of tips

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.

READ MORE >
Speech Bubble icon
tech talk tuesdays
June 17, 2019
Media Recommendations

11 Podcasts for Family Summer Car Trips

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.

READ MORE >
Speech Bubble icon
tech talk tuesdays
June 11, 2019
Screen Addiction

Counseling for Screen Time Struggles

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.

READ MORE >
Speech Bubble icon
tech talk tuesdays
June 4, 2019
Social and Interpersonal Development

The Art Of Asking People to Put Their Phone Away

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.

READ MORE >
Speech Bubble icon
tech talk tuesdays
May 27, 2019
Mental Health

Are Youth Really More Lonely Now?

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.

READ MORE >