In 2017, when I first theorized that smartphones and social media might be behind the adolescent mental health crisis, my own children were very young – ages 10, 7, and 5. I started giving presentations for parent groups based on my research, and soon got a lot of questions I wasn’t sure how to answer: What’s the right age for kids to get a smartphone? What about social media? How do I keep my kids safe online?
As my own children grew into teenagers and more research emerged, the answers to these questions became much clearer.
I eventually realized two things:
1. Advice around kids and technology should be simple and straightforward.
2. That advice can be summed up in 10 clear rules.
My book sharing those rules will be out next week, on Sept. 2 -- it’s called 10 Rules for Raising Kids in a High-Tech World, and it’s available for pre-order now. The subtitle is How Parents Can Stop Smartphones, Social Media, and Gaming from Taking Over Their Children’s Lives. It’s the result of both a decade of researching teen mental health and my family’s experiences as my kids grew from children to adolescents.
We now know the impact of smartphones and social media on our kids, thanks to books like The Anxious Generation (2024) and my own book iGen (2017) that detailed the research. But I couldn’t find a practical book for parents that spelled out exactly what rules parents should be following and helped them figure out precisely how to implement those rules.
10 Rules is that book. It’s designed to help frustrated, thoughtful, desperate, and loving parents everywhere. With three teen daughters, I’ve certainly been all four of those things myself. But following the rules has definitely made it easier, and I hope it will for you, too.
Excited to check this one out! Thank you for your work throughout the years. You were a true pioneer in this research!
Thank you for providing the North Star to parents who are searching for the answers