Scrolling 2 Death

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: [REPORT] Roblox is a Pedophile Hellscape for Kids 14 U.S. States Sue TikTok for Harm to Children TikTok Redacted Documents in Teen Safety Lawsuit Revealed [REPORT] CDC Warns Parents About Social Media Link to Suicide Families Sue Social Media for Harm to Children [WARNING] DEA Issues Warning About Illegal Online Pharmacies Snapchat Begins Testing 2 Harmful New Features Nevada Lawsuit Against Snapchat, TikTok, Meta Moves to Trial Check back on Fridays for everything that parents need to know about the platforms our children are spending hours on every day.

I checked my Instagram messages last week and saw that the incredible Andrea Brambila had reached out. She asked very simply, "How do I get involved in advocacy?"  I'm not an expert, but have learned a lot in the past 12 months through attending Congressional hearings, lobbying in D.C. and advocating on a local level at my school district and school board meetings.  Andrea led the conversation by asking questions that many parents may have about how to get more involved in protecting kids online. This is an extremely important conversation because the fact is, parents' voices are what is going to change the tide. When parents say we've had enough with our children being harmed by Big Tech, that is when we'll see change.  If you have specific questions that we didn't answer, please reach out!  Resources mentioned in the episode: Ranking of U.S. States for Online Safety Interviews about KOSA with Josh Golin of Fairplay, legislative expert Patrick Lyden and Alix Fraser of Issue One Mothers Against Media Addiction Big Tech Gut Check (weekly updates from Scrolling 2 Death)  Newsletter from Project Liberty After Babel Substack (by Jonathan Haidt and team) Andrea Brambila is a mental health therapist and mother of two. She specializes in perinatal mental health and developmental psychology. Through her social media platform (@brambila_bits), she encourages other parents to reduce the overwhelm and overstimulation through independent play and low-screen living.

Harrison Haynes was a 12-year-old, video game-loving middle school student who met a stranger on Xbox. The stranger became Harrison's "best friend," sharing intimate conversations and advice. Over the next 18 months, Harrison became the victim of "grooming," where predators establish an emotional connection with a minor under the age of consent, to lower the child's inhibitions with the objective of sexual or emotional abuse. On today's episode, Harrison vulnerably shares his story in order to warn parents about grooming. Predators are using gaming platforms and social media to target children and they can be very difficult to spot. Harrison gives a ton of specific advice to parents about how to prepare our children for this threat and how to support a child who has experienced grooming.  You can connect with Harrison on LinkedIn or reach him directly at harrison@wiredhuman.org.

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: State of New Mexico Sues Snapchat for Failing to Protect Kids [New Yorker] Has social media fueled a teen suicide crisis? U.S. Surgeon General Recommends Social Media Warning Label (bill introduced in Congress) Roblox and Google Partner to Create a Weird Online Safety Game AAP Releases Glossary of Digital Media Platforms Check back on Fridays for everything that parents need to know about the platforms our children are spending hours on every day.

The internet is now, decidedly, unsafe for kids...including A.I. generated platforms. At Angel Kids AI, their mission is to use AI to flip the script; making the internet safe for kids.  I brought in Tim Estes, founder of Angel Kids AI, to educate parents about A.I., the harms, the potential and how to introduce our kids to A.I. tools safely and productively. Tim and I dig into online harms, reviewing popular AI products like Amazon's Alexa, ChatGPT and others. Parents will leave this conversation with a healthy understanding of how to introduce AI to our kids in a way that enhances their creativity and doesn't harm them.  In addition to joining the waitlist for Angel Kids AI, here are a few AI tools that Tim recommends trying out with your child: Merlyn Mind Khan Academy Synthesis About Tim: Tim Estes is a pioneering executive in the Artificial Intelligence and Natural Language Processing domain. He founded and led Digital Reasoning from 2000, an AI leader in the space of unstructured data analytics for 20+ years. Estes envisioned a means by which computers could learn to accurately interpret language, understand context, and extract critical intelligence. Digital Reasoning secured investments from In-Q-Tel (IQT), Goldman Sachs, Nasdaq, BNP Paribas, Barclays, Credit Suisse, HCA, and others totaling over $120M. Dubbed “Wall Street’s Robocop” by Forbes, the technology in Digital Reasoning became the market standard for applying AI and Natural Language Processing to communications data across text and voice and was adopted by a majority of the Tier 1 Financial Institutions around the globe. It’s technology also supported key Defense and Intelligence efforts in the US Government, enabled nationwide cancer screening systems to automate patient detection and prioritization, and created the largest deployed system to support law enforcement in the disruption of child sex trafficking rings in North America. It was merged with Smarsh in November, 2020 to create the market leader in Communications Intelligence for Financial Services. Estes left the acquiring company, Smarsh, at the end of 2021 and is now an active Angel Investor, Advisor, Board Member, and Mentor to CEOs in multiple industries.

Rick Lane was there at the beginning; when MySpace was the leader of the pack and Facebook was moving fast and breaking things. He had a front row seat to it all going wrong and is speaking out. In this eye-opening conversation, Rick describes how the initial intention of self-regulation and light government touch in the tech industry has led to the lack of accountability and failure in protecting children online. Rick Lane is a tech policy expert, child safety advocate, and the founder and CEO of IGGY Ventures LLC. IGGY advises and invests in companies, projects, and public policy initiatives that can positively impact society. Connect with Rick on LinkedIn. Pass KOSA! To give our children the protections they deserve, we need the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA). KOSA passed in the Senate 91-3 and needs passage in the House. Please contact your Rep to ask them to co-sponsor KOSA.

I brought in CMO of Bark Technologies, Titania Jordan, to discuss the implications of Apple's iOS 18 update, focusing on its impact on child safety and parental controls. We also discuss implications of privacy and general advice related to kids and devices. 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: Snapchat Integrates Google's AI to Enhance Snapchat Chatbot Snapchat Offers Older Teens 16+ Public Sharing Snapchat Testing Simplified Version of the App States Race to Ban Phones at School Administrators Toolkit by Phone Free Schools Movement The Battle to Ban Screens From School Now Includes Chromebooks and Tablets Instagram Announces Teen Accounts 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. These days, parents have access to a safer smartphone for kids called the Bark Phone. Check out the Bark Phone Check out the Bark Parental Monitoring App for iPhones and Androids (use code SCROLLING2DEATH for 10% off) Join the waitlist for the Bark Watch

Laura Lawrence is a wealth of knowledge between her experience as a teacher, speaker, author and most importantly, a mom of 4. We had an honest conversation that covers all areas of screen time and social media. I am especially grateful to Laura for sharing a sensitive story about her son's experience with an online harm. Laura Lawrence is a 4x best-selling author, motivational speaker, mindfulness coach, entrepreneur, philanthropist and mother of four. Connect with Laura On Instagram @lauralawrence.author and @youthmattercanada Via her websites: lauralawrence.ca and youthmattercanada.ca NCMEC's Take it Down Service If there is an explicit image of you or your child on the internet, please request removal at takeitdown.ncmec.org This episode is sponsored by Bark Technologies. Learn about the Bark App for iPhones and Androids *Use code SCROLLING2DEATH FOR 10% OFF Check out the Bark Phone

Today's episode of Scrolling 2 Death features a vulnerable conversation with a mom in Colorado named Lori Schott. Lori tragically and suddenly lost her 17-year-old daughter to suicide in November of 2020. After Anna's death, Lori turned to her phone for answers. What she found on TikTok is every parent's worst nightmare -- a steady stream of videos targeting Anna with promotion of self-harm, suicide and depression. Lori is fighting back against the companies who harmed her daughter through advocacy work and support of the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA). Social media platforms will never choose child safety over profit, so they must be forced. My heart goes out to the Schott family for the lost of their daughter Anna, forever 17. This episode is sponsored by Bark Technologies. Learn about the Bark App for iPhones and Androids: *Use code SCROLLING2DEATH FOR 10% OFF Check out the Bark Phone