March 20, 2025

EP 28: Dance Mom Star Quits Instagram. You Should Too.

1 hour 10 minutes

Instagram is failing kids. What happens when someone decides to walk away?

John Corella sits down with Lennon Torres to talk about her decision to quit Instagram and why she’s pushing for stronger online protections. From cyberbullying to sextortion, social media isn’t just a distraction. It’s a real danger, especially for young queer individuals. Lennon shares the work she’s doing with the HEAT Initiative to hold tech giants accountable and explains how platforms like Instagram and Apple could make simple changes to protect children, but choose not to.

This episode explores an idea that’s central to Lennon’s activism: Joy in Resistance. How do you stay hopeful when fighting an uphill battle? Why is choosing joy a powerful act of defiance? John and Lennon’s conversation challenges listeners to rethink their relationship with social media and consider what real connection looks like in a world that profits from keeping us hooked.

Quotes

“Part of our liberation and part of our fight is finding joy. And so much of these people that want to silence and quiet us don’t get to take away our joy. And so the act of joy is a resistance. And so by being happy, by spreading that joy, and by reminding each other that we have each other to lean on, is in itself an act of resistance.” (10:42 | Lennon Torres)

“If you had a 13-year-old son, would you give them a phone or give them an adult friend that you’ve never met before and put them in a room in your backyard and didn’t check on them for 12 hours? Because that’s what you’re doing when you hand your kid a device.” (29:09 | Lennon Torres)

“We have been taught by these platforms, brainwashed by these platforms, to think that in order to have all of the good, we have to have the bad. And we don’t have to have the bad.” (40:48 | Lennon Torres)

“We are at the beginning of that fight for child safety on big tech. These companies aren’t going to do the right thing on their own, and we’ve seen it historically. Climate, the reason all of these big shareholder groups and these big companies are doing good for the environment now is not because they woke up one day and loved the trees. It’s because they woke up one day and realized if they don’t do good for the environment, their business will suffer. And we are at the beginning of that fight for children’s safety on big tech.” (50:20 | Lennon Torres)

“Connecting on social media is like having a meeting on enemy territory.” (01:02:29 | Lennon Torres)

Links

www.protectchildrennotabuse.org

https://mashable.com/article/quitting-instagram-meta-you-should-too

Connect with Lennon Torres:

linkedin.com/in/lennon-torres-325b791b4

Dance Dad with John Corella on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dancedadwithjohncorella/

John on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/john_corella/

Join Patreon for Free! BTS content and monthly zoom meetings: https://patreon.com/TheonlyDanceDadwithJohnCorella/

Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm

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