Scrolling 2 Death

In this conversation, 21-year-old Harrison Haynes opens our eyes to a new way of living with tech; something he coins "digital essentialism."  Parents worry so much about keeping our kids safe online...is it time we take a look at our own relationships with technology? Connect with Harrison on LinkedIn. Resources mentioned in the episode: "I survived grooming." (with Harrison Haynes) Dear Parents, From Gen Z (with Ava Smithing) Tracking vs. Trust: Striking a Balance (with Ava Smithing) Grooming Explained (with Anna Sonoda) What happened to our attention spans? (with Dr. Gloria Mark) Harrison Haynes, a student at James Madison University, is currently finishing his bachelor degree in Social Work with a concentration on Mental Health Counseling and a minor in global religion and cultures.  Harrison is aiming to continue his education, completing a Master's Program, and pursuing his ambition to become a Therapist through Clinical Social Work.  Beyond academics, Harrison is actively involved in the Wired Human Youth Coalition, a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting discussions on online harms and mental health with a focus on empowering young voices to lead the conversation in political advocacy. Harrison also serves as a Survivor Consultant for the End-OSEAC Survivors Council, where he helps develop trauma-informed and survivor-led legislation to combat online exploitation and digital harms.  His work and lived experiences have created an appreciation for formative practices, especially what he calls “digital intentionalism.” After a year and a half of navigating life with a "dumb phone," he developed this concept for everyday people to help create space for what truly matters in a book he is authoring called: “The Moments Between Moments”. In his free time, Harrison leads a vibrant and diverse “life group” dedicated to helping students and friends find peace in an intentional, spiritual life.  This episode is sponsored by Bark Technologies: Learn about the Bark Phone Learn about the Bark App for iPhones and Androids  *Use code SCROLLING2DEATH FOR 10% OFF Learn about the Bark Watch 

The Big Tech Gut Check is a super quick, weekly update on all things social media and Big Tech. Social Media & Big Tech highlights for this week: U.S. Judge Upholds California Ban on Addictive Feeds for Minors Florida Social Media Ban on Hold Due To Lawsuit TikTok Internal Reports Show Massive Amount of Harm TikTok 'Divest or Ban' case to be decided Morton woman faces charges after CSAM linked to her Snapchat account Snapchat Predator Facing Charges Involving 15-year-old Girl Meta Adds Thousands of AI Users to Facebook and Instagram Recommended Interviews: Australia's Under-16 Social Media Ban (with Dany Elachi) "An A.I. chatbot killed my son." (with Megan Garcia) "Chatbots told my son to kill me." Are A.I. chatbots out of control (with Tim Estes) A.I.'s Impact on Children (with Dr. Mathilde Cerioli) This episode is sponsored by Bark Technologies.  Learn about the Bark Phone. Learn about the Bark App for iPhones and Androids. *Use code SCROLLING2DEATH FOR 10% OFF Learn about the Bark Watch.

I brought in Dr. Alison Yeung to recap 2024 and set intentions for 2025 around kid's online safety.

Sean Killingsworth brings the youth perspective on what it's like to be a teenager with access to smartphones and social media. After struggling as a young teen with his use of smartphones and social media, Sean decided to switch things up. He started using a flip phone. After the initial weaning of period, Sean felt incredible. He was more present and happier. But problems remained, as all of his peers were still unable to lift their eyes from their phones. This led to the creation of The Reconnect Movement. More about Sean: Seán is the founder of the Reconnect Movement, which creates in person communities on college campuses for students to socialize without their phones. Students love it. Reconnect currently has over 500 students signed up for student-led reconnect clubs at the University of Florida and University of Central Florida. Reconnect has hosted events at Harvard, Rollins College, Catholic University of America, Divergent U with plans to expand nationally in the next 2 years. In addition to his advocacy work with The Anxious Generation, Design it for us, and the Becca Schill foundation, Seán also speaks at conferences, events, and colleges. Most recently, he gave a guest lecture at Georgetown University. He is launching his podcast Be the Oasis in January 2025. His book by the same name will be published in spring 2026. You can reach out to Sean at: sean@reconnectmovement.com

The stories about A.I. chatbots abusing children has been keeping me up at night. How could this be happening? I brought in Tim Estes of Angel Kids AI to educate parents on all things AI and guide us on how to protect our children from this online threat. Resources Mentioned in the Episode Join the waitlist for Angel Kids AI [INTERVIEW] "AI chatbots told my son to kill me." [INTERVIEW] "An AI chatbot killed my son."

I brought in Dany Elachi of the Australian-based Heads Up Alliance to learn about the recent U16 Age Gate Bill which passed in Australia. In addition to breaking down the new law, Dany shares his personal experience in (admittedly) giving his pre-teen daughter a phone too early and how correcting this mistake led to an advocacy movement across Australia. Dany breaks down the legislative battle in getting this new law passed, how the age verification will work, which platforms this applies to and much more.  Resources Mentioned in the Episode Scott Galloway Explains Why Age Gating Social Media Is Both Necessary and Doable Australia Passes Social Media Ban for Kids Under 16 Dany Elachi is a Sydney husband and father of five children, aged between 7 and 15. He is also the founder of the Heads Up Alliance, a volunteer-run, grassroots movement of Australian parents committed to delaying smartphones and social media for their children. Since its inception in 2020, the Heads Up Alliance has also been a powerful advocate for children's wellbeing. The movement has successfully advocated for policy changes that led to smartphones banned in nearly 1,000 Australian schools. More recently, the Heads Up Alliance played a pivotal role in lobbying for a world-leading national law raising the minimum age for social media to 16. The Heads Up Alliance remains committed to ending the phone-based childhood and reclaiming the play-based one for all Australian children.

The Big Tech Gut Check is a super quick, weekly update on all things social media and Big Tech. Social Media & Big Tech highlights for this week: Speaker Mike Johnson Appears on Fox to Discuss KOSA Opinion: Donal Trump Must Not Block TikTok Ban TikTok Ban Goes to Supreme Court Pew Research: Teens and Social Media Use CCDH Report: YouTube's Anorexia Algorithm [INTERVIEW] Apple Fails to Protect Children; Facing $1.2B Lawsuit Check back on Fridays for everything that parents need to know about the platforms our children are spending hours on every day. This episode is sponsored by Bark Technologies.  Learn about the Bark Phone. Learn about the Bark App for iPhones and Androids. *Use code SCROLLING2DEATH FOR 10% OFF Learn about the Bark Watch.

In this conversation, I brought in Sarah Gardner of Heat Initiative to discuss a landmark lawsuit against Apple regarding its negligence in protecting children from child sexual abuse material (CSAM). Together we break down the lawsuit and what these failures mean for families. Are Apple devices even safe for kids, in their current form? Many questions are asked and answered in this episode. The lawsuit against Apple was filed on behalf of thousands of survivors of child sexual abuse for knowingly allowing the storage of images and videos documenting their abuse on iCloud and the company’s defectively designed products. The lawsuit alleges that Apple has known about this content for years, but has refused to act to detect or remove it, despite developing advanced technology to do so. The images and videos of the plaintiffs’ childhood sexual abuse, which have been stored thousands of times, would have been identified and removed had Apple implemented its 2021 “CSAM Detection” technology. However, Apple terminated the program after its announcement. Other leading technology providers have been proactively detecting and reporting illegal child sex abuse images and videos for more than a decade. Apple’s belated efforts, and subsequent cancellation, leave it among the very few major platforms that do not engage in proactive detection and removal. Resources: heatinitiative.org Send an email to Apple execs to ask them to protect kids (click Take Action) About Sarah Gardner Sarah Gardner is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of the Heat Initiative. Prior to launching Heat’s campaign to hold Apple accountable, Sarah spent 10 years at Thorn, an organization that builds technology to combat online child sexual abuse, where she was integral to its growth from a small, start-up effort to a multi-million dollar nonprofit. As Vice President of External Affairs, she helped develop a plan to eliminate child sexual abuse material from the internet which spurred a $63M investment in the organization through the TED Audacious Prize. Sarah also worked at Free the Slaves, an organization empowering local organizations to end modern forms of slavery. This episode is sponsored by Bark Technologies.  Learn about the Bark Phone Learn about the Bark App for iPhones and Androids  *Use code SCROLLING2DEATH FOR 10% OFF Learn about the Bark Watch 

This is the conversation to get parents up to speed on fentanyl. No one is safe from this threat and this information can be life-saving to your family. I brought in Special Agent Frank Tarentino to discuss the opioid crisis, focusing on the rise of fentanyl and its devastating impact on families. He emphasizes the importance of education for parents and the role of social media in drug distribution.  Resources Mentioned in the Episode Other Scrolling 2 Death Episodes Related to Fentanyl One Pill Can Kill Resources Warning About Illegal Online Pharmacies Operation Prevention About Frank A. Tarentino III Mr. Frank A. Tarentino III is the Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s New York Division covering the State of New York. Mr. Tarentino is a twenty-six year veteran of the DEA having served diverse assignments to include foreign operations, multi-agency international investigations and local impact initiatives in domestic offices. 

The Big Tech Gut Check is a super quick, weekly update on all things social media and Big Tech. Social Media & Big Tech highlights for this week: Lawsuit filed against Google & Character.AI over abusive bots [The Interview] "Chatbots told my son to kill me." [Report] YouTube's Anorexia Algorithm [The Interview] An inside look into the new YouTube Report TikTok asks court to put divest-or-ban law on hold amid Supreme Court appeal TikTok Pays Users to Shop if They Boost App Downloads [The Interview] Project Liberty and Frank McCourts Bid to Buy TikTok Apple Sued for Failing to Remove CSAM Meta Building $10B Data Center in Louisiana Call Speaker Mike Johnson and ask him to pass the Kids Online Safety Act! (202) 225-2777 ⁠Sign this petition to get Character.AI shut down.⁠ Check back on Fridays for everything that parents need to know about the platforms our children are spending hours on every day. This episode is sponsored by Bark Technologies.  Learn about the Bark Phone. Learn about the Bark App for iPhones and Androids.  *Use code SCROLLING2DEATH FOR 10% OFF Learn about the Bark Watch.