Screen Time

Addressing your screen time struggles with science and understanding.

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We all know that media and technology unleash incredible opportunities for our kids and teens. They can connect, learn, create, take action, and share. We also understand that managing screen time unleashes incredible power struggles and worries: How much screen time is healthy? Is screen time bad for babies? What are the best cell phone rules for kids? What about social media and anxiety?

Media headlines don’t answer these questions very well, often relying on fear-based or tech-euphoric soundbites. You deserve guidance grounded in research so that you can worry less and parent better. Check out the posts below or search our full blog and be in touch with your questions.

Beyond Digital Detoxes: Rethinking Our Relationship With Devices

I spent last week canoeing with my family in northern Minnesota. Before we left, I changed my out-of-office message to indicate that I would be offline for a week. For many people, this kind of message is meant to communicate the spirit of a commitment…

Beyond Digital Detoxes: Rethinking Our Relationship With Devices
New Data Reveals How and Why Teens Are Turning to AI Companions

In my latest book, I describe my early interactions with a rudimentary 1990s AI program called Dr. Sbaitso. This was back in the days of dial-up internet, so this “doctor” was far from a fluid and sophisticated conversation partner. The voice was robotic, it took…

New Data Reveals How and Why Teens Are Turning to AI Companions
How We Talk About Youth Mental Health Matters

“Just checking in! How is everybody doing?”

When Elmo asked this question on X in January 2024, no one expected it would generate 180 million views within just two days. Initial responses were light and playful. But people across the internet quickly began sharing more honest…

How We Talk About Youth Mental Health Matters
When Screen Time Rules Fall Apart

When my family had a conversation about summer screen time a month ago, our agreements and ideas felt so full of promise. They didn’t result from an idyllic family summit or long formal meeting, but the conversation was earnest and grounded in our most positive…

When Screen Time Rules Fall Apart
AI Companions Are Talking to Kids—Are We?

I remember watching the 2013 movie Her, where a man named Theo develops a relationship with an artificial intelligence operating system, and feeling two contradictory things at once: incredulous (“This could never really happen”) and uneasy (“This seems like it really could happen”).

Fast forward twelve years, and…

AI Companions Are Talking to Kids—Are We?
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Teens, Tech, and the Power of Staying Curious

When our kids are little, we get a lot of data about their lives. We know their friends, what they ate for lunch, and which show they want to watch on repeat. I remember sometimes wishing for less data when my youngest’s preferred safety spot…

Teens, Tech, and the Power of Staying Curious
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Boys and Belonging: Let’s Not Leave It To The Manosphere

I watched the hit Netflix series Adolescence with two hats on. As a professional, the online misogyny wasn’t new. I’ve written about online extremism before. But as a parent, with a kid the same age (and freckles) as the main character sleeping upstairs, the show…

Boys and Belonging: Let’s Not Leave It To The Manosphere

“Media and technology are not inherently good or bad, they are powerful. The good or bad depends upon how we use them.”

Dr. Dave Walsh

Addressing your screen time struggles with science and understanding.

Screen Time

Want the latest Spark & Stitch blogs delivered right to your inbox?

Want to learn more in person?

“Media and technology are not inherently good or bad, they are powerful. The good or bad depends upon how we use them.”