In this very special roundtable episode of Psychologists Off the Clock, our cohosts Debbie Sorenson and Emily Edlynn gather a panel of experts—including Tracy Dennis-Tiwary, Ellen Galinsky, and Devorah Heitner—to discuss an issue many parents face today: the impact of smartphones and social media on children’s mental health. 

Bringing their unique perspectives together, they look at the often-alarmist messages surrounding technology use in youth, offering a balanced and hopeful perspective rooted in evidence-based science and field and personal experience. 

Some of the key topics they talk about include addressing parental stress around technology, shifting from rigid monitoring to supportive mentoring, and how cultivating digital literacy and independence in our children. 

Please tune in for thoughtful, evidence-based strategies that prioritize your children’s well-being and growth and reassure you that healthy digital citizenship is within reach without having to resort to fear-based tactics. 

Listen and Learn:

• Meet the experts - Emily Edlynn, Tracy Dennis-Tiwary, Ellen Galinsky, and Devorah Heitner
• What are the effects of alarmist tech narratives?
• How do extreme views impact youth mental health?
• Lessons from public health campaigns on tech use
• Parents and community roles in digital literacy: How can we work together?
• Navigating the pressures of intensive parenting around tech
• Understanding the complex link between tech and mental health
• What science really says about technology’s impact on kids
• Recognizing data cherry-picking in tech research
• Teen suicide and the importance of careful data interpretation
• Key findings from the National Academy on social media
• How do teens really feel about tech?
• Harnessing positive peer influence on tech habits
• The critical role of sleep in teen well-being
• School tech policies: What can parents do?
• Ways to involve kids in creating tech solutions
• How fear-based messaging affects kids
• Parental roles: Monitoring vs. mentoring
• Building executive function skills through balanced tech use

Resources: 

• Tracy’s New York Times review of The Anxious Generation: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/26/books/review/jonathan-haidt-the-anxious-generation.htm
• Devorah’s Newsweek article: https://www.newsweek.com/everyone-wants-save-children-social-media-what-about-rest-us-opinion-1922435 
• Emily’s debate with Jonathan Haidt: 
• You can watch it in its entirety here or this clip on YouTube.
• And you can follow the story of her participation in the debate on her Substack newsletter here https://emilyedlynn.substack.com/p/david-meet-goliath and here https://emilyedlynn.substack.com/p/sextortionist-rings-and-other-fear 
• The Surgeon General’s advisory on Parental stress: https://www.hhs.gov/surgeongeneral/priorities/parents/index.html 
• A commentary by Emily, Debbie, and Yael on the advisory: https://emilyedlynn.substack.com/p/is-parent-stress-breaking-news 

About our panelists: 

• Tracy A. Dennis-Tiwary, Ph.D. is a professor of psychology and neuroscience and Director of the Emotion Regulation Lab at Hunter College.
• Ellen Galinsky is President of Families and Work Institute and the elected President of the Work and Family Researchers Network.
• Devorah Heitner, PhD is the author of Growing Up in Public: Coming of Age in a Digital World and Screenwise: Helping Kids Thrive and Survive in the Digital World.
• Emily Edlynn, PhD is a psychologist and the author of Autonomy-Supportive Parenting: Reduce Parental Burnout and Raise Competent, Confident Children and the emotions journal for kids, In Your Feels. And of course you all know her as a cohost of Psychologists Off the Clock. 

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