Helping kids and teens make smart choices online
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Kids and teens spend a huge part of their lives in digital spaces — on apps like TikTok, Snapchat and Instagram and even using artificial intelligence tools like ChatGPT. Gaming platforms like Roblox have become virtual playgrounds, too.
These tools can be fun, creative and social, but they also carry real risks, ranging from misinformation to cyberbullying and grooming by online predators.
MPR News guest host Catharine Richert talks about how to keep kids safe without shutting them out of the digital world.
She’ll talk with her guests about what’s working, what isn’t and how families can find some balance online.
Guests:
Jodi Dworkin is a professor of family science at the University of Minnesota. She studies how technology shapes family life and child development. Her work focuses on helping parents navigate kids’ use of social media, screen time and digital communication in healthy ways.
Rebecca Shlafer is a child psychologist and an associate professor of pediatrics at the University of Minnesota Medical School. She researches adolescent health, child development and family well-being.
Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Spotify or RSS.
Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.
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