The Dangerous Son Problem: How Netflix’s “Adolescence” Has Upped the Panic Over Teen Boys’ Internet Brain Rot New York Magazine, April 3, 2025 This article examines the cultural anxiety surrounding adolescent boys and their online habits, particularly in light of Netflix’s series Adolescence. The show has intensified concerns about “internet brain rot,” a term reflecting […]
Teachers see AI evolving from nuisance to necessity at K-12 schools By Sean Salai – The Washington Times – Tuesday, May 6, 2025 Samantha Gleisten has made her share of mistakes teaching generative artificial intelligence to middle school students in Chicago. When she first invited a group of eighth graders to create chatbots with a software program two years ago, […]
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 […]