The Screenagers Blog

tech talk tuesdays

School may be out, but summer reading is just heating up. I often get asked by kids in Screenagers’ audiences whether reading on an e-reader counts as screen time. While a screen is a screen, I highly encourage kids to read, whether it’s paper or electronic.

tech talk tuesdays

We've all lost track of time when using our phones. So many parents, myself included, want to make sure the screen time limits we've set are being followed by ourselves and our children. Luckily for us, there are several apps out there designed to manage screen time limits so we don't always have to.

tech talk tuesdays

I received a few emails this week about the appropriate age to buy a young person a smartphone. Data shows that younger and younger kids are getting smartphones —what is too young?

tech talk tuesdays

If your child’s life has included a Minecraft phase, you know what I’m talking about. There’s the beginner level of the game that you play, walking from place to place collecting resources for survival, and there are the deeper levels, that can include creating entire neighborhoods to programming your own action sequences and building tools that you make available to other players.

tech talk tuesdays

I am upset. Yesterday my teenage son Chase showed me the Discover feature on Snapchat. The Discover feature grabs content from a variety of sources — Cosmopolitan, Buzzfeed, CNN among many others and makes it accessible to anyone, including our kids. But what makes me so mad is that there is no way to remove or block the Discover Story feature on the app. So what do we do?

tech talk tuesdays

Last week, Harvard rescinded the acceptances of 10 incoming freshmen for posting racist, sexually offensive material on Facebook. As intense as the consequence may seem, this is an important reminder that nothing on the web is private, even private chat groups.

tech talk tuesdays

In the past couple of months, I visited schools where the teachers talked to me about concerns over kids and cell phones during field trips.

tech talk tuesdays

When I visit schools across the country, I am consistently surprised that students, parents and even teachers are frequently unsure of the cell phone policies at their school. Wouldn't it be great if we had data on how often middle schools allow students to have cell phones with them all day? And wouldn’t it be great if we knew what policies parents want?

tech talk tuesdays

One of the most interesting screenings of Screenagers was at a conference for addiction professionals. Did you know that about 1% of the U.S. population has a gambling disorder? It is almost double that in Hong Kong.

tech talk tuesdays

I strongly believe that one of the most powerful aspects of Tech Talk Tuesday is starting the discussion with something positive about the tech in our lives. If we really want to have effective dialogue that creates a lasting tech balance with our kids, we need to talk about the positives too. Believe me, your kids will want to hear this week’s TTT.

tech talk tuesdays

As Mother’s Day approaches I have been thinking about my mom and her support over the years, and I am also thinking of non-family important women who have also helped me when I was growing up. I call these women Mentor Moms.

tech talk tuesdays

A new study being presented this week at the 2017 Pediatric Academic Societies Meeting found that tablet and smartphone use by babies and toddlers correlates with a speech delay.

tech talk tuesdays

Last week we talked about the Netflix series “13 Reasons Why” and how to talk to your kids about the hard subjects seen in the show. This week, we think it’s important to focus on what the teens think about the show and its provocative content. What are they saying about “13 Reasons Why?”

tech talk tuesdays

Teens all over the world are streaming the Netflix series, “13 Reasons Why.” The series, based on the young adult novel by Jay Asher, explores hard issues like online bullying, rape, and suicide. Because youth today so often watch shows alone on their personal devices, it is imperative that we engage and have conversations with our teens about these intense subjects.

tech talk tuesdays

I just returned from Australia where I was rolling out Screenagers. All over the country, I heard exactly the same questions and concerns I’ve heard in the U.S. and in other countries: Why are we so glued to our devices and what is excessive screen time? A new book called Irresistible by Adam Alter looks at why everyone seems to be is so entranced by screens.

tech talk tuesdays

Families today are busy. Often everyone is running in different directions, and texting each other under the same roof is becoming the new normal. This disconnect in personal touch is troublesome. To keep our sanity, and our face-to-face conversations alive, my family follows four rules...

tech talk tuesdays

The season of spring break is upon us. With it comes the issue of what to do with your unstructured days. Let’s face it, so often down time has become screen time.

tech talk tuesdays

I am the first to say that I love multitasking. We know the brain can handle certain kinds of tasks at the same time like walking and chewing gum because those actions don’t rely too much on the frontal cortex. However, our brains can't adequately process the performance of two tasks at the same time when those tasks require some thinking.