A fresh wave of anxiety about children and technology is cresting, with parents and pundits increasingly interrogating how kids use smartphones, social media, and screens. It hasn’t stopped teenagers from embracing generative AI. New research reveals what AI tools teenagers in the United States are using, and how often—as well …
Read More »OpenAI Messed With the Wrong Mega-Popular Parenting Forum
Think of any topic vaguely related to raising kids imaginable, and there’s probably a post about it on Mumsnet, the long-running, enormously popular, controversy-spurring UK-based parenting forum for mothers. Over its more than two decade-long history, Mumsnet has amassed an archive of more than six billion words written by its …
Read More »Google and Fitbit Made a Kids’ Smartwatch
Last week, a neighbor invited my children over for ice cream. My 9-year-old wanted to walk alone, so she strapped on her Apple Watch and set out with my son. I watched the blue dot rush enthusiastically off. “Baby, you’re going the wrong way,” I texted. She corrected her course, …
Read More »Meta Faces Fresh Probe Over ‘Addictive’ Effect on Kids
The European Union has opened an investigation into Facebook and Instagram for the platforms’ potentially addictive effects on children, echoing two similar probes opened into TikTok earlier this year. Meta-owned platforms will be investigated for their addictive and “rabbit hole” effects, and whether young users were being fed too much …
Read More »There's No Undoing Tech's Great Rewiring of Childhood
The book currently topping the New York Times nonfiction bestseller list is The Anxious Generation, a jeremiad against social media and its impact on young people. Its thesis is that apps like Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok have unleashed an epidemic of mental illness among children, preteens, and teenagers. Immediate and …
Read More »This Furry, Robotic Puppet Comforts Your Crying Baby While You Drive
About two years ago, I was in a car with my best friend and her toddler. She was driving, and I was sitting in the back next to her 10-month-old, who was tucked into his car seat. For a while, the ride was smooth—then the baby burst into tears. We …
Read More »Screen Time for Kids Is Fine! Unless It's Not
The anti-smartphone movement is having a moment. On March 25, Florida governor Ron DeSantis signed a bill banning children under 14 from social media platforms. In February, the UK government backed tighter guidance to keep children from using their smartphones at school. In the past year, grassroots organizations like Smartphone …
Read More »These Diaper Bags Are Also Great Backpacks
My least favorite thing about diaper bags is how massive they are. Do I really need a bag that makes me look like a hobbit wearing Aragorn's backpack? Not that Aragorn wears one. (Real men carry man purses.) It would cramp his style, the same way most diaper bags cramp …
Read More »We're Obsessed With Thule Strollers, and Our Favorites Are on Sale
The Black Friday holy grail is finding that one big-ticket item that you need, for a price you can finally afford. For you, that might mean finding an affordable TV or an upgraded MacBook, but if you're a parent, you know one of the most expensive items you need is …
Read More »Parental Advisory: This Chatbot May Talk to Your Child About Sex and Alcohol
Parenting in 2023 requires talking with your kids not just about the hazards of the internet and social media but also the artificial intelligence spreading rapidly into just about every app or online service. Common Sense Media, the nonprofit that rates movies and other media for parents, is trying to …
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