Melissa Quigley and Kristen Hughes were among the original founders of Techwise SB, a group that seeks to educate elected officials and school administrators about the technology and its affect on children in the early grades. They asked the Santa Barbara Unified School District to remove iPads from K-3 students because the dangers associated with excessive iPad use. Hughes is a pediatrician at the Santa Barbara County Public Health Department and said she has seen an increase in childhood obesity and other serious health concerns as a result of technology use during the COVID-19 pandemic. Quigley is a psychologist at Monroe Elementary school and said she is seeing students talk about suicide ideation, depression and other mental health issues. The two forced the Santa Barbara Unified School District into a discussion about technology and the school district is listening. In this hour-long podcast, Hughes and Quigley talk about their professional experiences and share their professional advice on how to help kids use technology in a safe way — and not let it control their lives.

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Molina is a college instructor, journalist and podcaster, who brings 20 years of professional experience to Santa Barbara Talks to create emotional, engaging and amazing conversations.