Scrolling 2 Death is a podcast for parents who are worried about social media. Through interviews with parents and experts, we explore smartphone use, screen ti...
Screens at School: A Growing Concern (with Matt Todd)
Are school-issued devices fueling children’s screen addiction? The American Academy of Pediatrics sets screen-time standards, and we do our best to limit kids’ time on devices, but what is happening in classrooms? Matt Todd, host of The Ranch Podcast, first realized the extent of the problem while volunteering in his son’s first-grade classroom. After his son finished an assignment early, he was “rewarded” with free time on his school-issued Chromebook. With internet browsers and YouTube enabled for educational purposes, the options for entertainment are endless – along with the dangers that come with unsupervised browsing.
Kids use their school Chromebooks and iPads during passing periods, at lunch, and even at home (after homework is done). Gamified education, once lauded as a solution to make learning more exciting, is actually fueling an addiction to devices and the behavioral problems that accompany it.
Matt has been working with school board officials in Idaho, and he believes they are actively seeking solutions to this growing problem. In this episode, he shares his insights with Nicki of Scrolling 2 Death and explains how raising awareness and educating parents is the best way to make a difference for kids now.
This episode is sponsored by Bark Technologies.
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Learn about the Bark Watch: https://barkparentalcontrols.pxf.io/c/5214646/2204011/17000
*Use code SCROLLING2DEATH FOR 10% OFF
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52:33
Big Tech Gut Check (week of January 27, 2025)
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:
Research: Youth Anger Linked to Age of Smartphone Access
Apple's Parental Controls Fail in New Test
Investors Make Offers for TikTok
Nigerian Man Extradited in Sextortion Case After Teen Suicide
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.
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6:43
Personalized A.I. Learning: The way of the future? (with Mackenzie Price)
Someone recently commented on my Instagram, "Are you ever going to interview someone you don't agree with?" Well, this is that interview.
Mackenzie Price, founder of 2 Hour Learning believes that "school is broken" and aims to fix it with an A.I. based educational model. The structure is 2 hours of screen time in the morning led by an AI tutor, followed by life skills workshops led by human guides. It's claimed that students are learning 2x as fast in academics using this model. I was eager to dive into this program with Mackenzie and compare thoughts.
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44:50
Childhood is not for sale (with Jason Frost)
A teenage girl falling prey to a human trafficker. A suicide attempt over a leaked nude. Young children acting out scenes from a pornography video. These are just a few of the incidents that led Jason Frost and his wife to start Human Wired, an organization dedicated to protecting children from online harm and exploitation. As former teachers, they witnessed the loss of innocence with the rise of social media– and it devastated them.
What started as a tool for connection transformed into the most profitable data mining technology, and our children are the products that fuel the profits. The core of social media is predatory AI that seeks to keep kids hooked – at any cost. The algorithm predicts what content will resonate most and serves it up without regard for appropriateness. The content is often shocking and harmful, but ‘engagement’ is the only metric that matters to Big Tech.
In this episode, Jason Frost, Co-founder and CEO of Wired Human, and Nicki of Scrolling 2 Death discuss the inner workings of Big Tech and the AI systems they built, along with guidance for parents who want to safeguard their children from online harms.
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1:04:40
Protecting Teens Online (with Utah State Senator Mike McKell)
In this episode, Utah State Senator Mike McKell joins Nicki Reisberg to tackle the pressing issue of online safety for teens. Together, they delve into the mental health crisis fueled by social media and the urgent need for legislative action to protect children from harmful content. Senator McKell shares insights into Utah’s groundbreaking efforts to implement age verification for online platforms and overcome fierce opposition from Big Tech lobbyists.
The conversation highlights the pivotal role parents play in driving change, from advocating for stronger laws to fostering open dialogue with their children about digital habits. They discuss practical tools for parents to understand the data behind the crisis and actionable steps to engage with their representatives. This episode is a call to action for bold solutions and collective effort in safeguarding the next generation in the digital age.
socialharms.utah.gov
Scrolling 2 Death is a podcast for parents who are worried about social media. Through interviews with parents and experts, we explore smartphone use, screen time, school-issued devices, social media use and so much more.
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