Eps 207: Talking Gen Z and Screens with Jaynay C. Johnson

Today’s guest is Jaynay C. Johnson. Jaynay is a therapist, speaker and author, dedicating much of her time and energy to serving adolescent girls and their families. From suffering from teen depression to being written off from family and teachers as being just another troubled teen, Jaynay has always been a firm believer that at any given moment you have the power to say "This is not how the story is going to end." Jennay chose to take control of her story, choosing to dedicate her life to uplifting and empowering the leaders of tomorrow. Jaynay's body of work includes published books, magazine features, radio interviews and multiple guest appearances. A lady of elegance, poise, motivation and hope for tomorrow's leaders Jennay embodies an uplifting message and presentation style that she believes the ones coming behind her will need in order to reach their greatest potential. Join us!

"I think the space where parents miss a great opportunity is to empathize.”

“The reality is phones are not bad. Internet is not bad. It's a tool.”

“If as the parent, you're constantly making the choices for them, you're almost telling them that you don't think that they can make good decision.”

“It is important for us all to just take a proactive approach and have conversations around the best practices of social media, the best practices of having a phone. And I think we just need to be doing that more frequently than we are.” 

What you’ll hear in this episode:

• The evolution of the concept of adolescence
• The audacity of “I know, because I was a teenager.”
• Empathy and raising teens
• Giving teens enough information to make informed decisions
• The value of appropriate openness
• Intergenerational differences
• The role of mobile phones and when they tend to be introduced to Gen Z
• Important conversations to have about phones with your kids
• Big issues facing teens and their parents
• Emotional intelligence and how it factors into the decision of which paths to pursue
• Timing of college and the need to be open minded
• Teaching your kids to trust themselves
• Challenges facing teens and families of color
• Being cognizant of cultural differences 

What does Joyful Courage mean to you?

So joyful courage means to me that, although it can be rough to have certain conversations and to pull out some of the, you know, darker sides of life, I find joy knowing that once we pull them out, they get a chance to see the light. And from there, everything goes up and up. So that's what it means to me, that I had the courage to pull it out. But then you're happy because it's out and once it's out, it can breathe.

Where to find Jaynay:

Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | Website

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices