Healthy Screen Habits Podcast

Dawn Wible and Julianna Arnold are co-chairs of the Online Harms Prevention workgroup at Fairplay. Fairplay for Kids is the nation's leading nonprofit committed to helping children thrive in an increasingly commercialized screen-obsessed culture, and the only organization dedicated to ending marketing to children. The online harms prevention work group believes children and young people deserve to be safe online. Today, we discuss a helpful kit designed to assist parents in getting a handle on all areas of online harms. Listen to this episode and visit the show notes on the Healthy Screen Habits website to gain access to this valuable resource.

Julianna Arnold is Coco's mom. Coco is forever 17, having been killed by a fentanyl overdose given to her from someone she trusted online. On this episode, learn how social media companies are finally being tried for addictive product design and how parents of kids who have suffered from online harms are staying strong.

Just as you wouldn't let a new driver take the wheel of a car without proper training, using smartphones requires instruction. Healthy Screen Habits now has a workbook designed for tweens and teens to help them navigate the rules of the road for smartphone use. Healthy Screen Habits Workbook for Tweens and Teens is what we, the founding members of Healthy Screen Habits, wish we had when our oldest kids received their first devices. Learn all about it when you listen to this episode with the authors: Amy Adams and Jeannie Ondelacy Sprague.

Eli Singer is the author of Offline.now: A Practical Guide to Healthy Digital Balance and the founder of Offline.now, a global platform and community for digital balance. Offline. now's mission is to help people build a calmer, more intentional relationship with technology, using practical, compassionate tools and a supportive community so they can use screens purposefully and focus on what matters most. In this episode, we talk about how to figure out the role you want technology to play in your one, amazing life. Listen now!

In 2020, during the COVID shutdown, Frank Possemato found himself to be a new dad and an online professor. He had time to reflect on the life he wanted for his daughter, as well as take note of the changing world while it moved increasingly online. Inspired by life as he knew it before the digital revolution, he purchased a notebook (with actual coins) and started writing about the importance of offline life. He wanted to remember to be present, to connect with friends and family, and to be tolerant of different versions of shared memories. In this episode, we talk more about life offline and how to appreciate analog moments. Listen now!

Dr. Sajita Setia is a researcher and global digital wellbeing expert in New Zealand. Her work connects the dots between screen habits, sleep, mood, and the rising mental health crisis in kids. In this episode we talk about: Why "good screen time" can still cause problems. How screens quietly affect sleep and self-esteem A simple game kids actually buy into: name it, move it, time it How families can stop blaming themselves—and start winning together If screen time feels like a daily power struggle in your home, this episode is for you. Listen now!

Kellyn Smythe is an expert at helping youth transition from living on devices to connecting with the physical world. Since 2014, he has worked at Pacific Quest, a fully licensed and accredited residential mental healthcare establishment on the island of Hawaii. In this episode we talk about layers of mental health care and what to expect with a digital detox. Listen now!

What's a VPN? What does it do? Cybersmart Parenting Protecting Your Child in the Digital Age is a digital safety handbook designed to help parents figure out questions like thes. It's written specifically for busy parents. (Parents like us!) In this episode I talk about online security and safety with the authors of this handbook Chad Rychlewski and Kae David. It's packed with information on how to get your family devices safe - today! Listen now!

An introduction to Season 15's theme "From First Screens to Crisis Moments". Also, a reminder to check out our Episodes by Topic menu on the Healthy Screen Habits website. We encourage you to access this free resource whenever needed. A library of experts awaits!

Healthy Screen Habits takes a break every year during the holiday season to relax, slow down, and enjoy our own families. Please do the same with yours! On this episode, get ideas for how to have tech-safe and tech-free fun.

Dr. Cynthia Miller-Idriss is the author of the stunning new book, "Man Up: The New Misogyny and the Rise of Violent Extremism". As a professor at American University and director of the University's Polarization and Extremism Research & Innovation Lab (PERIL), she has seen firsthand the real damage done to young men through toxic messaging in our online world and advises how to help our boys. Listen now!

Problematic gaming gets experienced in many households, but can be SO HARD to find any information about! Jennifer J. Park, PhD, has been working on gaming disorder since 2018. After realizing that New Zealand had no existing programs to help people specifically with gaming disorder, Jennifer set out to study this growing concern. Therapists and people at that time were accessing pre-existing addiction programs, but had nothing to help with gaming specifically. If you have a gamer at your house or know someone who may be spending a bit more time than others online gaming, this episode is one you won't want to miss!

Forget grandma….I GOT SCAMMED. I am so embarrassed - I know better. I literally teach people how to stay safe online. Learn about the latest scams, how I got taken, and how to protect your own family. Listen now!

Imran Ahmed is the founding CEO of the Center for Countering Digital Hate, a leading voice in the fight against online hate, disinformation, and manipulation. From viral conspiracy theories to the influence of AI, CCDH has been pushing for accountability from the biggest tech platforms since it began. If you only listen to one episode this season - make it this one. Listen now!

Wilder Nicholson and Lori Frome, MEd, worked together on the award-winning documentary, A Stone Unturned, which explores how screen time shapes early childhood and the potential for behaviors that parallel autism. In this episode, we talk about all things surrounding the condition called "virtual autism". Listen now!