“How is that allowed?” my middle schooler asked me recently. My son had just learned that Elon Musk’s AI chatbot and image generator, Grok, was being used within X to “undress” existing images of people online. We had already talked about nudify and “undressing” apps (add this to the growing list of awkward but essential… Read More →
“I am just so tired. It feels like a full-time job,” a parent shared with me recently, describing the constant work of managing parental controls and online risks. “Yeah,” I replied. “You aren’t alone. Most of these platforms aren’t designed with our kids’ wellbeing in mind, and we’ve largely outsourced responsibility to parents and kids.… Read More →
When I’m leading workshops with parents about adolescence, I often invite them to travel back to their own teenage years. I’m not asking for a perfectly accurate replay of events. Instead, I ask for memories of what it felt like to be on that rocky, turbulent, exhilarating road from childhood to adulthood. Together, we fill… Read More →
There’s a small print hanging on the wall just outside our kitchen that says simply, “It’s okay to cry here.” I don’t necessarily need the reminder. I come from a family of cryers. If you’ve been lucky enough to see my dad speak, you know he can rarely get through a keynote or workshop without… Read More →
Whenever I hear about a new set of parental controls, two feelings rise up immediately: relief and resentment. Relief that the industry is responding to parental concerns and acknowledging that young people aren’t mini-adults. Settings that help parents protect their kids from harm are not “nice to have” in 2025; they are essential. Resentment because we… Read More →
First comes the violence. Then comes its rapid spread across the internet. Sadly, political and interpersonal violence is not new. What is unique to this generation is the proliferation of graphic content online. Raw footage of political assassinations, war crimes, racialized violence, and sexual assault can spread quickly in the wake of acts of violence,… Read More →
“Are you excited about middle school?” a well-meaning employee asked my soon-to-be sixth grader last week. She was doing her best to make conversation as she scanned our pile of college-ruled notebooks at checkout. “I guess so,” my youngest replied, his tone suggesting he was trying to convince himself. Later in the car, he added,… Read More →
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: to take a break from work and relieve the expectation… Read More →
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 forever to generate answers, and the program rarely delivered the… Read More →
“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 status updates, including feelings of distress, loneliness, challenge, and… Read More →
