CCP170: On Teens and Their Online World

In this week's conversation between Dr. James Emery White and co-host Alexis Drye, they discuss the results of a recent study from Pew Research, summarized in an article titled, “10 facts about teens and social media.” Pew conducted a survey of teens between the ages of 13 and 17, as well as their parents. The goal was to discover teens' perspective on their experience with social media and its overall effect on their lives. And it revealed a great deal about their online world - the good, the bad and the ugly.

Episode Links

In addition to the Pew article, there were several other stories mentioned throughout the discussion that were related to the topic of teens and their online world. And as you heard Dr. White say, many of these are stories that were shared in the Daily Headline News - a collection of headlines from around the globe each weekday -posted to Church & Culture. If you're interested in reading more, check out the following articles:

William Wan, “‘It broke me': Inside the FBI hunt for the online predators who persuaded a 13-year-old to die,” The Washington Post, October 16, 2025.

David Ingram, “Instagram says it's overhauling how teens experience the app, making it more ‘PG-13',” NBC News, October 14, 2025.

Rebecca Bellan, “California becomes first state to regulate AI companion chatbots,” TechCrunch, October 13, 2025.

Rhitu Chatterjee, “Kids who use social media score lower on reading and memory tests, a study shows,” NPR, October 13, 2025.

Colleen McClain et al., “How Parents Manage Screen Time for Kids,” Pew Research Center, October 8, 2025.

“Social Media and News Fact Sheet,” Pew Research Center, September 25, 2025.

Lee V. Gaines, “1 in 5 high schoolers has had a romantic AI relationship, or knows someone who has,” NPR, October 8, 2025.

Jessie Balmert, “Pornhub says it won't shut down in Ohio over new age-verification law,” USA Today, October 10, 2025.

Caitlin Gibson, “What makes a man? The internet is defining it for teen boys.,” The Washington Post, October 8, 2025.

Geoff Brumfiel, “Kiss reality goodbye: AI-generated social media has arrived,” NPR, October 3, 2025.

Dr. White mentioned an installment of a series that he recently delivered at Mecklenburg Community Church (Meck) called “Streaming Now.” This series took a look at four of the most popular streaming series at the time, including “Adolescence,” which he discussed during today's episode. You can find that series HERE.

Finally, there are several series on parenting that Dr. White has given over the years at Meck that have been incredibly impactful for parents and families. As he said in today's episode, it's crucial for the Church to partner with families and to help guide them. You can find those series, as well as other series related to “Marriage and Family” HERE.

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