Posts by Ryan
Kik, Kids, and Online Predators: Why This App Still Matters
Kids need to understand why private messaging with strangers is different from talking to friends. They need to understand why usernames, anonymous profiles, hidden chats, disappearing messages, and secretive conversations can create danger.
Read MoreYour Child May Not Use ChatGPT, But They Are Still Growing Up With AI
Parents do not need to become AI experts overnight, but we do need to start changing the conversation.
Read MoreLet Them Be Little: Beauty Trends, Social Media, and Childhood
Now we have new terms entering the world that parents need to understand. Two of them are “Sephora kids” and “cosmeticorexia.”
Read MoreFizz: Another Anonymous App Parents Need to Know About
Do you know what Fizz is? These apps do not just live on the phone. They move into hallways, cafeterias, classrooms, friend groups, athletic teams, and family conversations. A post may be anonymous, but the impact is very personal.
Read MoreAttention Residue: Are We Raising Kids Who Never Fully Focus?
I think kids are growing up practicing divided attention almost constantly. They are learning inside environments where it feels normal to bounce between five things at once. Even boredom rarely lasts more than a few seconds before a device fills the silence. The concern is not simply that kids are distracted. The concern is that sustained focus may slowly start feeling unnatural to them.
Read MoreWhen the Chatbot Sounds Like a Professional: AI, Trust, and Abstraction Drift
Recently, TechCrunch reported that Pennsylvania filed a lawsuit against Character.AI after a chatbot allegedly posed as a doctor.
Read MoreCognitive Offloading: Are Kids Handing Their Thinking Over to Technology?
“Just Google it” has quickly become “just ask AI.” The concern is not that kids are using tools. The concern is that they may be handing over important thinking skills before those skills have had time to develop.
Read MoreScreens Are Shaping Kids Long Before They Ever Get a Smartphone
What happens 10 years from now when Gen Alpha goes to college and many of them say they never knew a time when they were not connected to a device?
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