How can parents tell if a teen's social media use is harming their mental health? Hosts Taylor Owen and Nicole Edwards are joined by a teen with a powerful story about the complicated relationship young people have with these platforms.

Guest Sarah Banet-Weiser, Director, Annenberg Center for Collaborative Communication, unpacks what makes photo and video apps so magnetic, and why they generally affect teenage girls differently than boys.

Next, Candice Odgers, a psychologist who specializes in new technologies and youth mental health, discusses the latest research on the effects of social media on teen mental health, with tips on how to support teens while they use these platforms.

FIND OUT MORE:

For further reading on how to talk to teens about their social media experience, consider Common Sense Media’s guide, Help! My Kid Wants to Use Social Media

https://www.commonsensemedia.org/blog/help-my-kid-wants-to-use-social-media

For more information on the Facebook research leaks, listen to the Wall Street Journal’s series, The Facebook Files

https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-facebook-files-a-podcast-series-11631744702

For support with disordered eating, visit the Canadian Mental Health Association’s resource guide

https://ontario.cmha.ca/documents/understanding-and-finding-help-for-eating-disorders/

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Is a rise in screen time changing the way children's brains develop?

Dr. Michael Rich, director of the Boston Children's Hospital Digital Wellness Lab, explains how the infant brain works and how it responds differently to online and offline activities.

Pediatrician and clinical researcher Dr. John Hutton walks co-hosts Nicole Edwards and Taylor Owen through his research using MRI to study the effects of screen time on white matter in preschoolers.

Finally, Dr. Kathryn Hirsh-Pasek, Director of the Infant Language Laboratory at Temple University, explains why not all screen time is equal, and shares tools to help evaluate the quality of the content kids are consuming.

FIND OUT MORE:

Read the study by Kathy Hirsk-Pasek et al.: “How educational are ‘educational’ apps for young children? App store content analysis using the Four Pillars of Learning framework”

https://kathyhirshpasek.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2021/03/How-educational-are-educational-apps-for-young-children-App-store-content-analysis-using-the-Four-Pillars-of-Learning-framework.pdf

The Canadian Pediatric Society’s age-based recommendations for screen use:

https://cps.ca/tools-outils/digital-media-and-screen-time

Visit Common Sense Media for reviews of age-appropriate content, like apps, TV shows and books: https://www.commonsensemedia.org/

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The metaverse might seem like an abstract world, but kids may already be living in it. Some researchers say popular gaming platforms like Roblox, Fortnite and Minecraft are early versions. With kids spending so much time playing virtually, hosts Nicole Edwards and Taylor Owen find out whether online friendships are as healthy as in-person socializing for youth.

Guest Katie Salen Tekinbaş; is a game designer, UC Irvine Informatics professor, and co-founder of a youth-led Minecraft camp called Connected Camps. She outlines the similarities between metaverses and popular gaming platforms, and the artificial division between 'real life' and 'online life' that some parents make with their kids.

Guest Chris Ferguson, a psychologist and video game researcher, explains how friendships between kids who have never met can feel so real, whether there are substantial differences between in-person and online friendships, and the unique advantages that come with having strong ties in digital spaces.

FIND OUT MORE:

Read about Katie Salen-Tekinbaş’ organization, Connected Camps https://connectedcamps.com/

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A show about how technology is changing childhood.

Episode 1 will be released on March 10th.

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