Social Media

Tweens and teens are flooding beauty counters after watching skinfluencer skin care regimens and make up tutorials. With over 15 years in the natural product and nutrition industries, Kimberly Grustas has an advanced knowledge of the dangers of even trace levels of estrogenic chemicals during the delicate transformation from girlhood to adult, AKA: puberty. On this episode, we talk about skinfluencers, young girls and best skincare practices.

Tessa Stuckey, AKA:The Mom Therapist, works with families navigating the digital, tech-filled world that our kids are growing up in. Tessa takes on today’s negative cultural effects on our kids’ mental health from the perspective of a therapist but with the heart of a caring mother. In this episode we talk about creating a healthier and positive lifestyle for the whole family through anxiety management, understanding online harms, necessary limits of screen use, and the need for healthy connection. Listen now!

KOSA (Kids Online Safety Act) provides families with the tools, safeguards, and transparency they need to protect against threats to children’s health and well-being online. The legislation would require social media platforms put the interests of children first by requiring these platforms to make safety the default. Contact your Senators to urge Senate Majority Leader Schumer to bring KOSA (The Kids Online Safety Act) to the floor for a vote. Do it today!

Since 2013, the Children and Screens Institute @childrenandscreens has been a leading curator of experts in the field of digital media and children's health. This week, I got to talk to the executive director: Kris Perry. I asked Kris questions like: - Is digital media enhancing or impairing children's abilities to live happy, healthy, productive lives? -What does research show regarding the effects of screen use on children's cognitive development or social emotional development? -What can parents do to help enact legislation enforcing guardrails on tech platforms? She had insightful, amazing answers. If you use technology, if you have any interaction with children, if you are interested in the effects of digital media, you need to hear this episode!

As the current National Advisor for Health Education and Media Literacy at Media Literacy Now @medialiteracynow, Tamara Sobel is deeply committed to helping parents and schools gain healthy screen habits. The founder of the Girls Women and Media Project, she led one of the first organizations focused on activism and education to raise awareness and improve images of girls and women in the media. She's a certified sexuality educator and a regular columnist for Psychology Today. ( Maybe you've already read some of her work!) Our conversation covers a variety of topics surrounding Media Literacy and a great healthy screen habit.

Aniko Hill made a career of mastering marketing and social media. Fast forward to pandemic times when we all were living online and she recognized that the same techniques she used professionally were keeping her son hooked on tech. Aniko took a deep dive into the digital wellness pond and co-founded DopaMind, an upcoming non-profit whose mission is to educate kids about brain science and let them be their own heroes. Listen now to learn about the science behind the “turn it off” meltdowns and more!

Those baby days can be rough - everything we see in the media tells you “these are the moments you live for” yet…it’s so lonely. If you have enjoyed other pursuits or had a fast paced career you might find yourself wondering what comes next?Typically - we reach to our device to reconnect with our friends and look for help with the millionth question you have that day. This can get tricky… we can find ourselves spending way more time online than we intended and spiraling down the hole of social media. Alex Fales, found herself struggling with all of the new mom things and was unsatisfied with her relationship with tech so she founded Mindful With Media @mindfulwithmedia. In this episode we talk about screen habit pitfalls and some relatively easy practices you can put in place to design the relationship with tech that you want to have. You are going to want to listen to this one!!

Andy Murphy founded The Secure Dad in 2016 realizing that every parent is a protector. Andy’s passion is to help families live safer, happier lives. The information Andy provides is based on proven methods, experience, and study. In this episode Hillary and Andy discuss the Dark Web, what parents should know about it and a current scam that is rumored to use AI duplication of your child’s voice. Andy provides actionable tips and information that every parent can employ. Listen now!

As the source behind the Wall Street Journal's Facebook Files, Frances Haugen exposed Facebook's awareness, complicity, radicalization in political violence around the world, plus their disregard to users' mental health. Her new book: The Power Of One: How I Found the Strength to Tell the Truth and Why I Blew the Whistle on Facebook, (available in our Amazon Marketplace) tells the backstory and more. I had the opportunity to speak with Frances. She was incredibly generous with her time…so generous that I did something I never have before – that is: create a 2 part episode. Enjoy listening to Part 2 of this fabulous conversation as Frances Haugen talks about ways we can fix social media….not kill it.

The Facebook Whistleblower, Frances Haugen deserves a seat in the High Court of Heroes in the “Do The Right Thing” Justice League ( I just made that up but it should absolutely be a thing.). A data scientist, Harvard graduate, expert of algorithmic product management and an Iowan daughter of two professors, Frances truly moved the needle for humanity when she recognized wrongdoing and stood up for the world. The source behind the Wall Street Journal's, Facebook Files, Frances exposed Facebook's awareness, complicity, radicalization in political violence around the world, plus their disregard to users' mental health. Her new book: The Power Of One: How I Found the Strength to Tell the Truth and Why I Blew the Whistle on Facebook, (available in our Amazon Marketplace) tells the backstory and more. When I had the opportunity to speak with Frances she was incredibly generous with her time…so generous that I am going to do something I never have before – that is: break this episode into 2 parts.

Emma Lembke is a young adult who is the founder of the Log Off Movement, an activist for better legislation for online protections, and a student at Washington University in St Louis. Emma is passionate about leaning into the creativity and resourcefulness of other young people who are interested in choosing their best path forward with technology. Her intergenerational work has created space for dialogue between lawmakers and youth for policy changes that favor protection over profit. Her tips on managing screen time and involving teens to take control of their screen use will help all families.

Johanna Renoth is the founder of Log Off Live More. She wants to help people navigate the digital world in a healthy, empowered way. Johanna does this by teaching and sharing resources about digital wellbeing and helping entrepreneurs market themselves without relying on social media. Above all, she's here to help you find ways to break out of falling into social media holes and live the life you want with technology.

Healthy Screen Habits Chief Operating Officer, Jeannie Ondelacy Sprague, talks about her own journey with social media as well as how she approached getting her teen ready for his own account. As a mom of 4, Jeannie understands that different children need different approaches to teaching. With a degree in Educational Psychology and over 25 years of experience working with children, Jeannie’s goal is to help people find balance in how they use their media, especially as it relates to family interactions. In this episode, we talk about the training period before getting an account as well as teaching consent with online posting.

Cece Hawley is the president of the Live More Screen Less Youth Council. She’s a Gen Zer who has a passion for digital wellness and change. Cece has an inside perspective of growing up with social media and the tricky relationship between tech and teens. On this episode we talk about what it’s like to grow up with tablets in school, and what makes an influencer.

Kristin Bride is a mother who has become a FORCE of awareness-building and education on online bullying and the role that social media plays. This is not by choice. Kristin’s life immeasurably changed on June 23, 2020 when her 16-year-old son Carson died by suicide following vicious cyberbullying thru Snapchat and the use of anonymous apps. On this episode we discuss Carson's story and legacy.

Sarah Siegand is a parent educator, tech consultant, and mom of 2 teenage boys. She and her husband Jesse founded Parents Who Fight in 2015. With this season’s focus being placed on Social Media, she is the perfect person to ask ALL the questions about what type of boundaries we need to put in place for healthy habits with social media.

Charlotte Markey, Ph.D. is uniquely qualified to talk about the effects social media is having upon our youth's developing self image. Actively doing research, examining eating behaviors and body image for 25 years, she has applied this knowledge to newer issues cropping up surrounding social media and self image. In this episode we explore all of these things and talk about how our own kids have been affected by tech.

Joann Bogard is a parent who did everything right and her son still died participating in a dangerous social media challenge. The “Choking Challenge” is an ongoing killer and Big Tech is failing to put up guardrails. In this episode learn about Mason Bogard, his life, and how we can support legislation that will provide youth protection from being exposed to dangerous online challenges.

Richard Culatta is the CEO of ISTE (International Society for Technology and Education) and author of the book “Digital For Good - Raising Kids to Thrive in an Online World.” In this episode we discuss how the digital citizenship curriculum needs to be updated and how to become an upstander when seeing cyberharm occur.

As founder of the Massachusetts Aggression Reduction Center, Elizabeth Englander, PhD is committed to helping children find best practices for connecting with others. Technology has created new ways to navigate the already tricky world of social norms and it’s important that parents have lots of discussion to provide guidance with all kinds of conflict resolution. In this episode we talk about technology, conflict resolution and parenting in a tech age.

In early October, a former Facebook employee turned whistleblower. Francis Haugen went public with accusations and internal documents collected during her time of employment. She said that the social media giant had been prioritizing profits over user safety and security. As soon as the formula of screens plus commercialization, plus youth began to reveal itself. I knew who I needed to talk to: Jean Rogers is the Director of the Children's Screen Time Action Network. In this episode Jean translates the data exposed by the Facebook Files and gives us some tips on how to keep our children safe online.

Social media gets explained in this episode from the perspectives of a “mompreneur” influencer and a millennial as a tool that can be used to educate and support positive mental health when used intentionally. Shawn Nelson is a 46 year old mom that has a passion for social media! Not only has she built a full time income on it and found her biological grandfather, Shawn also uses social media to provide education to others on Type 1 diabetes and provide support to families. Ivy Staker is a social anthropologist and an eating disorder survivor fascinated by how we shape culture, and how culture shapes us. She intentionally uses social media to guide healthful thoughts and stopped following her friends' accounts when she realized she no longer felt good after seeing their online posts.

“I Believe In Me” is an online program designed to give tween girls (11-14 yrs) a carefully crafted step up into their teen years and tech use. Using a theme of gardening to explain self-care and awareness, girls are taught how to build strength through self-awareness and rise above the comparison, criticism, and self-doubt that is rampant when engaging with social media. Founder and members of the I Believe in Me staff Katie Parker, Becky Fife, and Allie Callister speak about the principles guiding their program and the tools to implement within your own home, all while bringing a whole lot of fun to this episode!

Emily Cherkin is the Screentime Consultant. For the past 15 years, she has been the one schools called and families summoned to help navigate challenges in our distracted digital age. Today she speaks about the number one concern on every pandemic parent’s mind: Is online education working?