Scrolling 2 Death

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:

**Senator Rand Paul Blocks Vital Kids Online Safety Bill: Call Senator Paul and ask him to stop blocking KOSA! (202) 224-4343

Contact your Representative in the House: Visit house.gov and enter ZIP code at the top right to find your representative

Contact your Senators: Visit senate.gov and use the state drop down at the top of your screen

Welcome to Teachers Talk, a series on Scrolling 2 Death featuring candid discussions with teachers. Parents are going to get the real deal on what's happening with screens at school, how tech is affecting students' learning and teachers' jobs.

Today's episode features educator and speaker Ronna Glickman. You can reach Ronna at socialmediasafety.education

In this episode I welcome Karl Stillner (co-founder and CEO of BrightCanary) for a discussion about device monitoring. These days, parents need to have an understanding of what's going on in their children's digital lives, but is there a point where we breach their privacy?

This chat makes it clear that social media companies and the U.S. government do not have our kids backs online. It is up to us parents to keep them safe, and that requires a level of monitoring plus open conversations with our kids. Karl and I get into detail on the best approach for parents in this raw conversation.

About Karl Stillner

Karl is the father of two boys, aged 12 and 9. He co-founded BrightCanary, a service that helps parents engage and prepare kids for digital lives, in 2022. Prior to starting BrightCanary, was a VP at T-Mobile USA, where he led M&A and operations for T-Mobile Advertising. T-Mobile Advertising, currently over $500m in annual revenue, was formed when a company Karl co-founded, PushSpring, was acquired by T-Mobile in 2019. Karl has had numerous other technology-related roles, including a board seat with Decisive Farming, a leader in the AgTech space, that was sold in Telus in 2019 and driving the business strategy and sale of Mobiata, which created FlightTrack a mobile app for travel, to Expedia. Prior to working in technology, Karl was a management consultant with Deloitte Consulting. Karl has a BA in Economics from Northwestern University and an MBA from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

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

❗️New Research Study Shows Effects of Handing Kids Devices

❗️ Dangerous App Called NGL Barred from Minor Usage

❗️ Middle School Students Attack Teachers on TikTok

❗️ Virginia Governor Orders School Phone Bans Starting 2025

❗️ Senator Rand Paul Blocks Vital Kids Online Safety Bill: Call Senator Paul and ask him to stop blocking KOSA! (202) 224-4343

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.

Welcome to Teachers Talk, a series on Scrolling 2 Death featuring candid discussions with teachers. Parents are going to get the real deal on what's happening with screens at school, how tech is affecting students' learning and teachers' jobs.

Today's episode features a high school educator named Matt Brady.

Here is Matt's substack: Teacher Teacher

Matt Miles and Joe Clement are two incredible teachers mentioned in today's episode. Here's a link to my interview with Matt and Joe.

This episode is sponsored by Bark Technologies.

DISCLAIMER: This episode includes details related to sexual assault of a minor. Please listen with caution.

Deb Schmill shares the story of her daughter, Becca, who experienced a severe trauma at just 15 years old which led to addiction and her death by fentanyl poisoning in 2020.

Smartphones and social media are facilitating access to drugs and harmful content that is deadly to many teens. My conversation with Deb emphasizes the need for parents to have open conversations with their children, be aware of their online activities and to create boundaries around device usage.

We also discuss the need for passage of the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA), a federal bill that will save childrens' lives. Contact your Senators and Representatives in the House; ask them to pass KOSA now before we lose more children to online harms!

Deb and her family founded the Becca Schmill Foundation and work to fund research, hosting community programs, and advocating for policies to protect children. https://beccaschmillfdn.org

This episode is sponsored by Bark Technologies.

Today I'm joined by attorney Laura Marquez-Garrett to review the latest series of events in the world of Snapchat. Snap rolled out new "safety features," but will these features really protect children from being contacted by strangers on Snapchat? The short answer is no, but there is much more harm lurking within Snapchat than meets the eye.

Join Laura and I as we take parents through the app that has fooled us all; an addictive torture den that masquerades itself as a "whimsical candy castle" for kids.

In summary, Snapchat will never, ever prioritize our child's safety over profits. They must be forced to through lawsuits and legislation. Here's how you can help...

Read the latest Rolling Stone article about how Snapchat is Fueling a Teen Opioid Crisis.

Find out about the work at the Social Media Victims Law Center.

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:

Contact your Representative in the House: Visit house.gov and enter ZIP code at the top right to find your representative

Contact your Senators: Visit senate.gov and use the state drop down at the top of your screen

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.

Therapist Andrea Brambila (of mega-popular @brambila_bits) joins me today for an honest conversation about kids and screens.

As moms who both raised babies during COVID, we compare notes on the highs and lows of our efforts to maintain low-tech households.

Andrea is an experienced mental health therapist who specializes in perinatal mental health and developmental psychology. She encourages parents to reduce the overwhelm and overstimulation through independent play and low-screen living.

Personally, I walked away from this conversation feeling seen! Parents have it tough in this digital age and I find it so helpful to have an honest and relatable conversation with a fellow mom. Hopefully you can relate!

Connect with Andrea here: https://www.instagram.com/brambila_bits/

This episode is sponsored by Bark Technologies.

Therapist Andrea Brambila (of mega-popular @brambila_bits) joins me today for an honest conversation about kids and screens.

As moms who both raised babies during COVID, we compare notes on the highs and lows of our efforts to maintain low-tech households.

Andrea is an experienced mental health therapist who specializes in perinatal mental health and developmental psychology. She encourages parents to reduce the overwhelm and overstimulation through independent play and low-screen living.

Personally, I walked away from this conversation feeling seen! Parents have it tough in this digital age and I find it so helpful to have an honest and relatable conversation with a fellow mom. Hopefully you can relate!

Connect with Andrea here: https://www.instagram.com/brambila_bits/

This episode is sponsored by Bark Technologies.

Learn about the Bark App for iPhones and Androids: https://info.bark.us/scrolling2death_bark

Check out the Bark Phone: https://info.bark.us/scrolling2deathbp