Social Media — News & Popular Guides
Parent’s Guide to TikTok
Parents don’t need to be tech experts to help teens use TikTok safely.
Instagram Adopts “PG-13” Defaults for Teen Accounts: What Parents & Teens Should Know
Instagram will automatically places users under 18 into “13+” mode.
What You Need to Know about Instagram Map
Instagram’s new map lets you share locations with friends—useful, but raises privacy concerns parents and users must manage.
Guide to Taking Control of Your Instagram Feed
How to control what you see (and don’t see) on Instagram.
Beyond the Verdict: Holding Big Tech Accountable Isn’t as Simple as It Seems
We must protect children, but we must also respect them and safeguard their rights.
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Parent’s Guide to Instagram
Instagram offers special protections with teen accounts.
Parent’s Guide to Discord
Discord supports voice, video, and text chat with over 200 million monthly users.
Parent’s Guide to Snapchat
Snapchat is for fun and spontaneity, with text, photos, and videos deleting after viewing.
Fine-Tuning Social Media to Make It Work for Me
In the end, it’s not about escaping the digital world but about mastering it, one mindful scroll at a time.
Parent and Guardian Guide to Meta Horizon Worlds
Meta Horizon Worlds is now available to teens ages 13-17 and preteens ages 10-12.
Mixed Feelings About Bill to Limit Smartphones in School
The bipartisan bill would require school districts to develop and adopt a policy to limit or prohibit the use by its pupils of smartphones.
Anxiety, Social Media, and the News
“The more we seek certainty over what will happen in the future, the more anxious we will feel.”
Why Surgeon General’s Social Media Warning Label is a Bad Idea
The Surgeon General called for a warning label on social media platforms, but it’s not a good idea
China Ownership Grabs Headlines, but TikTok has Reasonable Teen Safety Policies
President Biden signed a law requiring ByteDance to sell TikTok within a year or face a U.S. ban.
New Report: Designing Digital Safety with Youth in Mind
A thoughtful and much-needed framework for reimagining what it means to protect kids online.
Parent’s Guide to Instagram
Instagram offers special protections with teen accounts.
Parent’s Guide to Discord
Discord supports voice, video, and text chat with over 200 million monthly users.
Parent’s Guide to Snapchat
Snapchat is for fun and spontaneity, with text, photos, and videos deleting after viewing.
Fine-Tuning Social Media to Make It Work for Me
In the end, it’s not about escaping the digital world but about mastering it, one mindful scroll at a time.
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Meta’s Threads Offers a Kinder, Gentler Experience than the New Twitter
Meta’s new Threads service is the second biggest challenge to Twitter.
Quick-Guide to Roblox for Parents
Roblox includes social features like in-game chat, which can be turned off to enhance safety.
FBI Issues Warning About Sextortion After Arrest in Teen Death
The FBI, the Department of Homeland Security and the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) issued a joint national public safety alert on financial sextortion schemes.
Parent’s Guide to Twitch
Community is key on Twitch; viewers interact through live chat with reactions, emotes, and comments.
Parent’s Guide to Teen Sextortion Scams
Huge increase in sextortion scams targeting teens, especially boys aged 14 to 17.
Ask Trish: Stressing About Social Media
I’m always so stressed about social media, like who’s viewing my stories, how my pictures look, and if I “measure up” to everyone else. How do I let go?
Ask Trish: Social Media and Mental Health
Dear Trish: Maybe it’s just me but I just feel really bad about myself when I’m on social media. Like literally everyone seems to be living their best life and it reminds me how much is wrong with mine. How can I feel better?
Parent’s & Educator’s Guide to Media Literacy & False Information
Two-thirds of students can’t identify sponsored content.
Protecting Mental Health on Instagram
I’m grateful to the Wall Street Journal for shedding light on some of the ways social media can contribute to a sense of inadequacy and other mental health issues. But what the article didn’t include is tips on how parents and teens can deal with these issues for a healthier online experience.