10 Years of “Creating Responsible Kids on Smartphones”

In 2012 I had an iPhone 5 and was learning the culture of apps and technology and all of the features of popular social media sites. It was all new and exciting and very interesting to me. I’ve always been a curious person and cutting edge technology is exciting to me.

Here are the most popular social media platforms of 2012

But as I learned about some of apps that were popular, I saw people posting about mental health, struggles, cyberbullying and making mistakes with personal information. I showed a few adults in the counseling field what I had discovered and asked if they’d seen the same things on their devices/apps. The general answer was that they hadn’t and they wanted me to show them more. I threw together some PowerPoint slides and found an audience. The response was very positive and by the end of the year, I had completed 10 trainings including parent events, professional trainings and conference presentations. In 2015, Shape The Sky became an official training organization and I launched the Shape The Sky website. 

I wanted to give a shout-out to a few of those 2012 organizations that hosted a training around social media and kids. Thank you!!

-Wesley Spectrum school based therapists!
-RCPA conference!
-Pressley Ridge foster parents and staff!
-Hampton School District parents!
-Moon School District nursing department and parents!
-University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) Doctoral Nursing Program!
-Indiana University of Pennsylvania Graduate Level Community Counseling Program!!

Take a look at the top at one of my Powerpoint slides from 2012. How things have changed in 10 years!! 

~Ryan Klingensmith