Connected & Courageous: The Art and Science of Showing Up For Kids in the Digital Age – Details, episodes & analysis

What if the key to navigating teens and technology isn’t in having all the answers but in asking the right questions? In this season finale of Connected & Courageous: Tech & Teens, host Erin unpacks the biggest takeaways from this mini-series. From cyberbullying to online creativity, what are the consistent threads that experts keep pointing to?

Tune in for a reflection on the guideposts that matter most when the digital landscape feels overwhelming. Plus, Erin shares a powerful invitation: one simple step you can take today to connect with the young people in your life. Don’t miss this wrap-up!

Parents often ask whether or not gifting technology is the “right thing to do.” But instead of asking questions about “right or wrong” or “good or bad,” research indicates that the when, why, what, and with whom of technology is just as important as the mere presence or absence of a new device or game.

In this episode, Erin reads an article that explores:

• Pausing to reflect on the purpose of tech gifts.
• Essential questions to ask about tech gifts before buying them.
• How to wrap up your tech gifts with intention and care.

Follow us on Instagram @SparkandStitch, on Facebook @SparkandStitchInstitute, and LinkedIn @erin-walsh-spark-and-stitch.

Resources discussed in this episode can be found here: sparkandstitchinstitute.com/podcast

Connected & Courageous is a podcast of Spark & Stitch Institute with production support from Beth K. Gibbs at Lift Podcasting.

There are renewed calls to delay social media as long as possible. What do we know about what teens need from adults as their digital worlds expand?

In this episode, Erin reads an article that explores:

• Whether there is a case to delay social media
• Why middle school is a window of sensitivity and a window of opportunity
• What all middle schoolers need regardless of when they get their first accounts

Follow us on Instagram @SparkandStitch, on Facebook @SparkandStitchInstitute, and LinkedIn @erin-walsh-spark-and-stitch.

Resources discussed in this episode can be found here: sparkandstitchinstitute.com/podcast

Connected & Courageous is a podcast of Spark & Stitch Institute with production support from Beth K. Gibbs at Lift Podcasting.

We talk a lot ABOUT tech and teens, but what do young people have to say about their digital experiences? How can their insights shape solutions? In this episode, “critical optimist” and researcher Dr. Emily Weinstein from the Center for Digital Thriving at Harvard Graduate School of Education explores the power of curious questions and shares actionable ways to team up with teens for a healthier relationship with tech.

Erin talks to Dr. Emily Weinstein about:

• Youth perspectives on artificial intelligence (AI) and the insights from teens that she can’t get out of her head.
• One question you can ask teens TODAY about generative AI.
• Practical tools and strategies for digital wellbeing and why discussing values and thinking traps is key.
• Why we need all hands on deck right now for digital thriving.

Featured Expert:

Dr. Emily Weinstein - https://digitalthriving.gse.harvard.edu/about/emily-weinstein/

Follow us on Instagram @SparkandStitch, on Facebook @SparkandStitchInstitute, and LinkedIn @erin-walsh-spark-and-stitch.

Resources discussed in this episode can be found here: sparkandstitchinstitute.com/podcast

Connected & Courageous is a podcast of Spark & Stitch Institute with production support from Beth K. Gibbs at Lift Podcasting.

It’s easy to assume that Friendships + Phones = Inevitable decline in relationship quality. But is that always the case?

In this episode, Erin reads an article that explores:

• What the research says about technoference and “social digital multitasking”
• Why digital design can make it hard to prioritize the friendships in front of us
• Digital age relationship skills that all of us need to practice
• The essential question about friendships that is more important than just the presence or absence of phones

Follow us on Instagram @SparkandStitch, on Facebook @SparkandStitchInstitute, and LinkedIn @erin-walsh-spark-and-stitch.

Resources discussed in this episode can be found here: sparkandstitchinstitute.com/podcast

Connected & Courageous is a podcast of Spark & Stitch Institute with production support from Beth K. Gibbs at Lift Podcasting.

Whether experienced online, offline, or both - cyberbullying, cruelty, and exclusion are deeply painful experiences. We want to do everything in our power to protect kids in these moments. But what does your teen actually need from you? Dr. Elizabeth Englander, Executive Director of the Massachusetts Aggression Reduction Center, offers the grounded advice you need to support your teen through these challenges.

Erin talks to Dr. Elizabeth Englander about:

• Why solutions are not always the thing kids need in the wake of bullying and cruelty.
• Why it is important to understand that we generally only know a tiny snapshot of what is happening between kids socially
• The practice that is more effective than confiscating phones
• The most important thing kids can do if they witness cruelty online or in person.

Featured Expert:

Dr. Elizabeth Englander - https://www.englanderelizabeth.com/

Follow us on Instagram @SparkandStitch, on Facebook @SparkandStitchInstitute, and LinkedIn @erin-walsh-spark-and-stitch.

Resources discussed in this episode can be found here: sparkandstitchinstitute.com/podcast

Connected & Courageous is a podcast of Spark & Stitch Institute with production support from Beth K. Gibbs at Lift Podcasting.

Attention is one of our most precious resources - how do we use it wisely in a world of digital distractions?

In this episode, Erin reads an article that explores:

• Why it is so hard to focus in a sea of digital distractions.
• How our brain pays attention
• Practical strategies to focus on what matters most.

Follow us on Instagram @SparkandStitch, on Facebook @SparkandStitchInstitute, and LinkedIn @erin-walsh-spark-and-stitch.

Resources discussed in this episode can be found here: sparkandstitchinstitute.com/podcast

Connected & Courageous is a podcast of Spark & Stitch Institute with production support from Beth K. Gibbs at Lift Podcasting.

The relationship between technology use and adolescent well-being is indeed... complicated. But this episode is for you if you are suffering from complexity fatigue. Dr. Katie Davis, Director of the University of Washington Digital Youth Lab, delivers compelling guidance that cuts through the noise without compromising the research. This is no small feat!

Erin talks to Dr. Katie Davis about:

• A guiding framework to help you discern - When does technology support adolescent development, and when does it not?
• Why paying attention to platform design really shapes the answer to that question.
• Practical strategies for helping teens develop more mindful tech use.
• Why being a “good enough” digital parent is often just what teens need.

Featured Expert:

Dr. Katie Davis - https://katiedavisresearch.com/

Follow us on Instagram @SparkandStitch, on Facebook @SparkandStitchInstitute, and LinkedIn @erin-walsh-spark-and-stitch.

Resources discussed in this episode can be found here: sparkandstitchinstitute.com/podcast

Connected & Courageous is a podcast of Spark & Stitch Institute with production support from Beth K. Gibbs at Lift Podcasting.

In this first expert interview of our mini-series on teens and tech, we are jumping right into the issue that is on everyone’s mind: social media and adolescent wellbeing. If you want rigid rules and prescriptive guidelines, this may not be the episode for you. But if you are hoping for thoughtful and evidence-based insights, Dr. Linda Charmaraman from the Youth, Media, and Wellbeing Research Lab at Wellesley College is the perfect guide.

Erin talks to Dr. Linda Charmaraman about:

• Why adolescence is a time brimming with possibility - not just risk
• Why research on the “average adolescent” may not always be the most helpful for you and your teen
• The power of near peers in changing digital habits
• The surprising thing that bubbles to the top of the list of concerns for this leading expert

Featured Expert:

Dr. Linda Charmaraman - https://www.wcwonline.org/Active-Researchers/linda-charmaraman-phd

Follow us on Instagram @SparkandStitch, on Facebook @SparkandStitchInstitute, and LinkedIn @erin-walsh-spark-and-stitch.

Resources discussed in this episode can be found here: sparkandstitchinstitute.com/podcast

Connected & Courageous is a podcast of Spark & Stitch Institute with production support from Beth K. Gibbs at Lift Podcasting.

In this first episode of “Erin Reads”, Erin sets important context for this mini-series by inviting us to hold three truths about tech and teens at the same time:

• We don’t have to wait for scientific proof of universal harm to teens to create a safer and healthier internet.
• We do need to take into account the complexity of young people's relationship to tech to craft good policy and better support teens.
• We need collective solutions that address more than just social media if we care about adolescent mental health.

We have an opportunity to build a better internet - if we move forward with adolescent needs, strengths, and development in mind.

Follow us on Instagram @SparkandStitch, on Facebook @SparkandStitchInstitute, and LinkedIn @erin-walsh-spark-and-stitch.

Resources discussed in this episode can be found here: sparkandstitchinstitute.com/podcast

Connected & Courageous is a podcast of Spark & Stitch Institute with production support from Beth K. Gibbs at Lift Podcasting.