New book! 10 Rules for Raising Kids in a High-Tech World
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!
I have believed that the mental health crises, loneliness crises and the overall rage crises of both young people and adults in the US is being driven by social media, porn, constant exposure (via tech) to vitriolic politics since the mid 2000’s. I guess that would be the ought years? I never know what to call them.
It’s been so clear to me the sources of our discontent but often I was feeling like chicken little, warning people about the ravages of these effects and people weren’t really buying it…then. They were mostly, still asleep or addicted. I think now people are finally getting it but the damage is done.
Having that kind of vision and clarity amidst mass trend & follow can be hard when people don’t listen. After getting off FB in 2014, I did an event at the store I work at on digital detoxing in 2018 and only 3 people came. For decades I’ve been freaking out in fear of the damage all these toxic sources would do to our culture and yet people kept on consuming them.
One can’t help but wonder if people are getting it now? Like do the masses realize the exciting colorful poison they consume is what is also making them sick, lonely, isolated and angry?
I hope so. I really hope and think the younger generation is starting to get that the little trinkets in their hands & the crass entertainment they’re being fed is also making them crazy with angst. I’m counting on them to be the ones to change our culture by pulling away when the adult world didn’t protect them. I hope they see clearly when others haven’t.
I truly hope so.