Young People Starting to Push Back Against Big Tech
Support is growing for reforms such as adjusting algorithms that may encourage divisiveness.
Family Guide to Parental Controls
How do I know when to use them, and should I tell my kids?
New Report: Designing Digital Safety with Youth in Mind
A thoughtful and much-needed framework for reimagining what it means to protect kids online.
Environmental Impact of AI Use
Validating eco-anxiety is crucial, yet teens must learn AI.
Environmental Impact of AI Use
Validating eco-anxiety is crucial, yet teens must learn AI.
Parent Guides
Guide to Taking Control of Your Instagram Feed
By Hina Talib, MD and Larry Magid, Ed.D. Instagram’s algorithm, which ranks and recommends posts based on your past activity, tries to show you what it thinks you’ll like—but sometimes it misses the mark. If your feed feels overwhelming, repetitive or just not “you,”...
Parent’s Guide to TikTok
TikTok-ConnectSafely Family Survey TikTok is one of the most popular platforms for watching and creating short videos. Although you can view TikTok content via its website, downloading the mobile app is the best way to explore features and learn how it works....
Parent’s Guide to Instagram
Social media is a significant part of many teens’ lives, and Instagram is one of the most popular platforms they use to share photos, videos and messages. With features like Stories, Feed, Reels, Live and messaging, Instagram allows teens to celebrate milestones, stay...
Parent’s Guide to Snapchat
Download Free Guide (PDF) Snapchat is all about fun and spontaneity. By default, the text, photos and videos you share delete automatically after being viewed by the recipient. Users love that they can share a moment that’s digital footprint-free — they don’t have...
Parent’s Guide to Roblox
View Quick Guide (PDF) If your kids love to play video games, one of the names you may be hearing about is Roblox. Launched in 2006, Roblox’s popularity among kids has exploded, and it is now one of the top entertainment platforms for kids and teens. But Roblox isn’t...
Wellness and Safety
Young People Starting to Push Back Against Big Tech
by Larry Magid This post first appeared in the Mercury News As regular readers know, I’ve been working in the online safety field for decades. For much of that time, it was common for young people to push back when adults criticized their use of social media, arguing...
You or Your Kids Got Tech for the Holidays. Now What?
by Larry Magid This post first appeared in the Mercury News If you or a member of your family are among the millions of people who got high-tech gifts this year, I wish you a happy setup and silent nights free of error messages or music on hold while waiting for tech...
Roblox to Estimate Age of All Users
by Larry Magid This post first appeared in the Mercury News Listen to "Roblox to estimate age of all users" on Spreaker. Larry's ConnectSafely Report for CBS News on Roblox announcement Roblox on Wednesday announced that it will employ the use of age estimation...
What You Need to Know about Instagram Map
This post first appeared in the Mercury News Instagram recently introduced a new feature called Instagram Map, designed to let you share your last active location with friends. Although it’s meant to help users feel more connected, the rollout has sparked confusion...
Youth Voices
Logging Off: Why More Teens Are Deleting Instagram
By Julianna Bryant Julianna is a college student and member of the ConnectSafely Youth Advisory Council. If you had asked me a few years ago if I could ever delete Instagram, after I had spent every summer begging my parents for an account, I would have interpreted...
More than a Chatbot: The Emotional Evolution of AI
By Julianna BryantJulianna is a college student and member of the ConnectSafely Youth Advisory Council. Towards the end of October, Character.AI announced that it will soon remove open-ended chat for users under 18, an announcement that students of ConnectSafely’s...
Treating Social Media as Windows into the Lives of Others
By Jacob Bryant Jacob is a college student and member of the ConnectSafely Youth Advisory Council. Social media and our online presence on it have been a way to grow and connect with others we might not normally have the opportunity to meet. There are different spaces...
Behind the Avatars
By Julianna Bryant Julianna is a member of ConnectSafely's Youth Advisory Council. When people hear “Roblox,” they often picture a harmless virtual universe— but for those of us who have grown up playing it, the story is more complicated. This post is based on a...
Videos
1. Generative AI for Families
2. Smart Digital Parenting: Navigating Screens with Children & Teens
3. New Gaming Research
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