I brought in CMO of Bark Technologies, Titania Jordan, to discuss the implications of Apple's iOS 18 update, focusing on its impact on child safety and parental controls.

We also discuss implications of privacy and general advice related to kids and devices.

This episode is sponsored by Bark Technologies.

The Big Tech Gut Check is a super quick, weekly update on all things social media and Big Tech.

Social Media & Big Tech highlights for this week:

Check back on Fridays for everything that parents need to know about the platforms our children are spending hours on every day.

This episode is sponsored by Bark Technologies. These days, parents have access to a safer smartphone for kids called the Bark Phone.

Laura Lawrence is a wealth of knowledge between her experience as a teacher, speaker, author and most importantly, a mom of 4. We had an honest conversation that covers all areas of screen time and social media.

I am especially grateful to Laura for sharing a sensitive story about her son's experience with an online harm.

Laura Lawrence is a 4x best-selling author, motivational speaker, mindfulness coach, entrepreneur, philanthropist and mother of four.

Connect with Laura

NCMEC's Take it Down Service

If there is an explicit image of you or your child on the internet, please request removal at takeitdown.ncmec.org

This episode is sponsored by Bark Technologies.

Today's episode of Scrolling 2 Death features a vulnerable conversation with a mom in Colorado named Lori Schott. Lori tragically and suddenly lost her 17-year-old daughter to suicide in November of 2020.

After Anna's death, Lori turned to her phone for answers. What she found on TikTok is every parent's worst nightmare -- a steady stream of videos targeting Anna with promotion of self-harm, suicide and depression.

Lori is fighting back against the companies who harmed her daughter through advocacy work and support of the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA). Social media platforms will never choose child safety over profit, so they must be forced.

My heart goes out to the Schott family for the lost of their daughter Anna, forever 17.

This episode is sponsored by Bark Technologies.

I was honored to speak with pro football Hall of Fame running back Emmitt Smith about his work in raising awareness of the dangers of opioid use.

Emmitt Smith teamed up with Emergent BioSolutions to break down the stigma around opioid use and accidental overdose, which continues to fuel a national epidemic impacting people from all walks of life.

During Emmitt's decorated 15-year professional career, Smith faced multiple injuries and often chose to play through the pain, because he knew the risks associated with opioids as he witnessed promising athletes develop a dependency, lost teammates to accidental overdose and watched loved ones struggle.

The Ready to Rescue campaign creates open dialogue about opioid risks and educate the public on how to be prepared to help save a life in an opioid overdose emergency.

Research shows that 44% of opioid-related deaths in states evaluated had a bystander present, but naloxone overdose reversal medications were rarely administered.

Parents should visit their local pharmacy to stock up on NARCAN Nasal Spray, which is available over the counter and can reverse the effects of an opioid overdose or poisoning in minutes.

I encourage you to share this interview (and the interviews linked below) with your teenagers and family members so that they are aware of how deadly opioids can be.

To listen to my interviews with grieving parents who have lost a child to fentanyl poisoning, please visit this link.

This is the worst story I've ever heard, but I'm so grateful I got to know Emily.

Today we meet an incredibly kind and animal-loving teenager named Emily Popolo. Her mom describes her with a smile on her face, despite Emily's struggles with bipolar disorder and learning disabilities.

Emily faced bullying that became relentless after the bullies took to social media to target her. It was too much for Emily and at 17 years old, she died by suicide.

This tragic story doesn't end there. The bullies were not finished with Emily. Listen or watch as Emily's mom, Erin, takes us through the series of events following Emily's death.

Trigger Warning: This episode goes into detail describing a teenage suicide and the horrific cyberbullying that occured before and after Emily's death. Please listen with caution and join me in offering support to the Popolo family.

P.S. It was a sunny day at Erin's lake house during the interview. The sun brightens her face mid-way through and shortly after, she adjusts her position. I like to think that was Emily shining her bright light down on us, in support of her mom.

This episode is sponsored by Bark Technologies.

Let's face it. Kids are struggling and one of the main reasons is social media; the addictiveness, the inappropriate content, the cyberbullying, the constant comparison. The list of threats goes on and on.

Turns out, social media platforms are not legally required to keep our kids safe or protect their mental health. This is why Senators Blackburn and Blumenthal created the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA).

I brought in Josh Golin of Fairplay to explain what KOSA is and what it is not. Josh busts the myths that are circulating the internet related to KOSA and explains how our children will be protected in several specific scenarios.

This episode is a perfect introduction to kids online safety and the numerous threats that our children are facing each and every time they log in to social media.

Here's how you can help get KOSA passed into law: Fill out this form

About Josh Golin

Josh started at Fairplay as an intern in 2003 and has been with the organization ever since. He succeeded Founder Dr. Susan Linn as Executive Director in 2015. Josh is passionate about creating a safer, less addictive internet for children where young people’s needs come before advertisers’ and big tech’s profits. Josh regularly speaks to parents, professionals, journalists, and policymakers about how to create a healthier media environment for children and teens. He lives in Vermont with his wife Jennifer, their 14-year-old daughter, and their hound Jolene.

After finding a self-harm video being promoted to my child on her school-issued device, I decided to embark on a journey of opting my child out of devices at school. And boy, has it been a journey.

I chose to share my experience with parents on social media, and it turns out that parents all over the country are having the same experiences.

So from there, I brought in Julie Liddell of the Ed Tech Law Center to help parents understand our rights around tech at school.

For 7 questions to ask your school about digital safety today, visit this link: https://www.scrolling2death.com/resources

Julie mentioned this book during our interview -- Weapons of Math Destruction: How Big Data Increases Inequality and Threatens Democracy

About Julie:

Julie Liddell has devoted her career to helping people of all backgrounds find justice in the courts.

At the University of Texas School of Law, she worked at the District Attorney’s office in the Family Justice Division and in the Cyber Crimes Division of the Office of the Attorney General of Texas protecting children from online solicitation.

She then spent ten years as staff attorney for judges in the highest courts in Texas resolving both criminal and civil matters ranging from complex commercial disputes to death-penalty appeals.

She is now turning her efforts and expertise to help families and teachers fight for their health, wellness, and privacy against tech companies who are exploiting them for profit. Julie understands that parents and children may not be forced to choose between their rights to health, safety, and privacy and their right to an education.

The Big Tech Gut Check is a super quick, weekly update on all things social media and Big Tech.

Social Media & Big Tech highlights for this week:

Check back on Fridays for everything that parents need to know about the platforms our children are spending hours on every day.

This episode is sponsored by Bark Technologies. These days, parents have access to a safer smartphone for kids called the Bark Phone.

Are our kids digital superlearners, or did we just complete a decades-long hardware dump on an entire generation with no research to support that kids will actually benefit from over-integration of tech at school?

This is what I explore in today's episode with special guest, Chris McKenna of Protect Young Eyes. We dive into the research related to the educational benefit of screens and global test scores, in addition to the distractions and privacy issues associated with school-issued tech.

Resources mentioned in the episode:

About Chris McKenna

Chris McKenna, founder of Protect Young Eyes and Executive Director of the PYE Foundation, is a leading advocate for digital safety. His efforts, including influential testimony before the US Senate and co-authoring the Child Device Protection Bill, have led to significant legislative movement. Chris also advises global tech companies, spoke at the World Economic Forum, and was featured in Childhood 2.0, while his organization educates parents and schools worldwide on digital safety.

This episode is sponsored by Bark Technologies.