Utah Becomes First State to Pass Bill Making App Stores Verify Ages CBS News, March 6, 2025 Utah recently became the first state to pass legislation requiring app stores to verify users’ ages and get parental consent for minors to download apps to their devices. Similar bills have been introduced in at least eight other […]
By Sean Salai – The Washington Times – Wednesday, April 16, 2025 Teenage girls led a 60% jump in the number of Americans reporting clinical depression symptoms from 2013 to 2023, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Wednesday. The CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics found the share of people ages 12 and older who reported clinical depression symptoms in […]
Based on my time with students in schools, I have no doubt that the most popular online game is Roblox! Whether I am working with 3rd grade students or 8th grade students, this is a hugely popular game. Upon a casual glance at Roblox, it appears to definitely be a ‘kids’ game’ and some may […]
Who Was the Cyberbully Harassing Her Teen Daughter? New York Magazine, January 15, 2025 Owen and his girlfriend Ashley started receiving harassing text messages while they were dating. The cyberbullying they received continued for years, eventually causing their breakup. The cyberbully had an uncanny knowledge of mundane goings-on at school and within their friend group. […]
He Was Suicidal and Needed Help. Online Predators Pushed Him to Take His Life on Camera. The Washington Post, December 10, 2024 The death of a Minnesota man offers a case study into how a sadistic online group has used the messaging app Discord to find and torment vulnerable people. Samuel Hervey, a 25-year-old in […]
A 14-Year-Old Boy Took His Own Life to Get Closer to a Chatbot. He Thought They Were in Love. The Wall Street Journal, November 8, 2024 Sewell Setzer III, a 14-year-old boy in Orlando, Fla., was smitten with a fantasy woman. The object of his attachment was Daenerys Targaryen, a chatbot seducer named for a […]
TikTok Sued By 13 States And DC, Accused of Harming Younger Users Reuters, October 8, 2024 TikTok faces new lawsuits filed by 13 U.S. states and the District of Columbia on Tuesday, accusing the popular social media platform of harming and failing to protect young people. The lawsuits filed separately in New York, California, the […]
Smartphones In Schools New York Times, September 6, 2024 Teachers are supposed to educate children, many of whom have still not caught up from Covid learning loss, while in a battle for attention with fantastically entertaining computers. A growing body of academic research suggests it isn’t going well. But school officials and policymakers have begun […]
Catholic Schools Ahead of the Curve When It Comes to Curbing Cellphones Matthew McDonald Always connected? The latest technology? Easy access to the web? Cellphones everywhere? St. Alphonsus Parish School in Seattle has none of that. And it doesn’t want it. “When I tell prospective parents we’re tech-minimal, people light up about that,” said Nick Padrnos, […]
5 Charged with Laundering Money for Sextortion Scheme That Led to Michigan Teen’s Suicide Channel 4 News, August 2, 2024 17-year-old Jordan DeMay died from suicide after being blackmailed online. DeMay, 17, was a student at Marquette High School when Nigerian men contacted him on Instagram, pretending to be a girl. They convinced DeMay to […]