November 20, 2024

382. The Anxious Generation? The Conversation We Should Be Having About Kids, Technology, and Mental Health

1 hour 18 minutes

In this very special roundtable episode of Psychologists Off the Clock, our cohosts Debbie Sorenson and Emily Edlynn gather a panel of experts—including Tracy Dennis-Tiwary, Ellen Galinsky, and Devorah Heitner—to discuss an issue many parents face today: the impact of smartphones and social media on children’s mental health.

Bringing their unique perspectives together, they look at the often-alarmist messages surrounding technology use in youth, offering a balanced and hopeful perspective rooted in evidence-based science and field and personal experience.

Some of the key topics they talk about include addressing parental stress around technology, shifting from rigid monitoring to supportive mentoring, and how cultivating digital literacy and independence in our children.

Please tune in for thoughtful, evidence-based strategies that prioritize your children’s well-being and growth and reassure you that healthy digital citizenship is within reach without having to resort to fear-based tactics.

Listen and Learn:

Meet the experts - Emily Edlynn, Tracy Dennis-Tiwary, Ellen Galinsky, and Devorah Heitner

What are the effects of alarmist tech narratives?

How do extreme views impact youth mental health?

Lessons from public health campaigns on tech use

Parents and community roles in digital literacy: How can we work together?

Navigating the pressures of intensive parenting around tech

Understanding the complex link between tech and mental health

What science really says about technology’s impact on kids

Recognizing data cherry-picking in tech research

Teen suicide and the importance of careful data interpretation

Key findings from the National Academy on social media

How do teens really feel about tech?

Harnessing positive peer influence on tech habits

The critical role of sleep in teen well-being

School tech policies: What can parents do?

Ways to involve kids in creating tech solutions

How fear-based messaging affects kids

Parental roles: Monitoring vs. mentoring

Building executive function skills through balanced tech use

Resources:

Tracy’s New York Times review of The Anxious Generation: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/26/books/review/jonathan-haidt-the-anxious-generation.htm

Devorah’s Newsweek article: https://www.newsweek.com/everyone-wants-save-children-social-media-what-about-rest-us-opinion-1922435

Emily’s debate with Jonathan Haidt:

You can watch it in its entirety here or this clip on YouTube.

And you can follow the story of her participation in the debate on her Substack newsletter here https://emilyedlynn.substack.com/p/david-meet-goliath and here https://emilyedlynn.substack.com/p/sextortionist-rings-and-other-fear

The Surgeon General’s advisory on Parental stress: https://www.hhs.gov/surgeongeneral/priorities/parents/index.html

A commentary by Emily, Debbie, and Yael on the advisory: https://emilyedlynn.substack.com/p/is-parent-stress-breaking-news

About our panelists:

Tracy A. Dennis-Tiwary, Ph.D. is a professor of psychology and neuroscience and Director of the Emotion Regulation Lab at Hunter College.

Ellen Galinsky is President of Families and Work Institute and the elected President of the Work and Family Researchers Network.

Devorah Heitner, PhD is the author of Growing Up in Public: Coming of Age in a Digital World and Screenwise: Helping Kids Thrive and Survive in the Digital World.

Emily Edlynn, PhD is a psychologist and the author of Autonomy-Supportive Parenting: Reduce Parental Burnout and Raise Competent, Confident Children and the emotions journal for kids, In Your Feels. And of course you all know her as a cohost of Psychologists Off the Clock.

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By Debbie Sorensen, Jill Stoddard, Yael Schonbrun, Michael Herold & Emily Edlynn

4.6

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