Parenting in the Screen Age - The Screenagers Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

Founder of the "Wait Until 8th" movement, Brooke Shannon, joins Dr. Delaney Ruston for a conversation. Brooke shares insights on the Wait Until 8th pledge, its community-based approach, and strategies for parents to manage digital exposure responsibly. 

The conversation also covers personal experiences, handling pushbacks, and practical steps for parents who have already given their kids smartphones and/or social media but decide they want to rein in their use. 

Time Code:

00:00 Introduction to Screenagers Podcast

00:31 Introducing Brooke Shannon and Wait Until 8th

02:47 How the Wait Until 8th Pledge Works

04:20 Partnership with Screenagers and Community Impact

07:46 Brooke's Personal Story and Motivation

13:57 Challenges and Pushbacks

19:25 Practical Tips for Parents

20:38 Parental Controls and Ongoing Conversations

27:43 Concluding Thoughts and Future Episodes

Resources:

1. Wait Until 8th

2. Brooke Shannon

3. Smartphone alternatives

4. Social media family-conversation guide

In recent days, Instagram has launched a range of new features designed to protect teens who are using the platform. Today we revisit this episode of the Screenagers podcast where Dr. Ruston spoke with three teen girls from middle school, high school, and college about their experiences, both good and bad, with Instagram.

They discuss why they joined the platform, how they use it, and the types of content they see, including ads and influencer posts. The conversation delves into the emotional impact of social media, including issues of comparison, curated posts, and the prevalence of ads. In addition, they touch on issues of subliminal messaging and the risks and benefits of posting about one’s true emotional state. This episode is intended for adult and youth audiences.

Time Code

00:00 Introduction to the Screenagers Podcast

01:20 Meet the Teen Guests

02:31 First Impressions of Instagram

04:54 The Allure and Pitfalls of Instagram

09:16 Ads and Influencers: A Deep Dive

13:10 The Impact of Social Media on Mental Health

22:35 Likes, Comments, and Posting Etiquette

27:18 Final Thoughts and Farewell

In today’s episode, Dr. Delaney Ruston talks with author Peggy Orenstein about a media-fueled risky sexual practice that is happening among some teens today — choking, also called sexual strangulation. Orenstein, who has spent many years researching sexuality among youth for her books “Girls and Sex” and “Boys and Sex,” investigated the topic of sexual choking for a New York Times article that was published last month. Today, Orenstein shares some of her findings from that investigation, including the influence of pornography and other media on this new trend.  What are the psychological and physical risks of this practice? And what are ways to have productive conversations with young people on this and related topics? This episode also includes a 19-year-old discussing her concerns about sexual choking. This episode is intended for adult audiences. 

Featured Expert

Peggy Orenstein

Research References

The Troubling Trend in Teen Sex -New York Times Article by Peggy Orenstein

What is rough sex, who does it, and who likes it? Findings from a probability sample of US undergraduate students (Archives of Sexual Behavior)

Additional Links 

Yes Your Kid: What Parents Need to Know about Today’s Teens and Sex, by Debby Herbenick

Sex, Teens, and Everything in Between,  by Shafia Zaloum

Want Me by Tracy, by Clark Flory

Girls and Sex, by Peggy Orenstein 

Boys and Sex, by Peggy Orenstein

Time Code

00:00 Introduction to the Screenagers Podcast

00:17 The Shocking Reality of Choking in Sexual Encounters Among Youth

01:18 Mainstream Media's Role in Normalizing BDSM and Choking

02:02 Insightful Conversation with Peggy Ornstein on Sexual Strangulation

05:42 The Alarming Data on Choking Among College Students

07:42 The Influence of Media and Social Media on Sexual Behavior

13:24 Addressing the Risks and How to Talk About Them

20:56 Empowering Youth to Speak Out and Advocate for Safety

24:12 Concluding Thoughts and Resources for Challenging Conversations

In today’s episode, Dr. Delaney Ruston talks with Casey O’Roarty, Med., who is a well-recognized expert in Positive Discipline, particularly when it comes to tweens and teens. She is the author of Joyful Courage and the host of the Joyful Courage podcast and has spent over 15 years working with families. In this episode, Casey provides real-life anecdotes about when kids sneak screen time when they have meltdowns and other behaviors, and she explores fostering curiosity, addressing meltdowns, and finding the delicate balance between having firmness while fostering a strong parent-child relationship.  In addition, another guest, a mother of three kids,  shares her experience with ditching her old parenting ways to adopt the Positive Discipline approach.

Show Notes

Casey O’Roarty’s website

Sometimes, gaming is not all fun and games. Foul words and degrading comments are all too common when kids and teens play video games together. From first-person shooter games like Call of Duty to building games like Minecraft and Roblox, competitive banter can be ugly. In this episode, Dr Ruston talks with Dr. Kishonna Gray, assistant professor of digital studies at the University of Kentucky, who researches various human dynamics that occur during video gaming. Dr. Gray works with parents and youth on how to manage the hard parts of gaming culture and shares many insights and solutions on today’s show. A teen gamer adds thoughts as well. The episode is intended for adult and youth audiences.

Kishona Gray

We're bringing back this episode today to help with the common arguments in the home about screen time and what to do. What is a parenting strategy that can promote healthy screen use, and other positive behaviors, while at the same time decrease fighting? In this episode of The Screenagers Podcast, Dr. Delaney Ruston talks with one of her favorite parenting experts, Dr. Tammy Fisher Huson, about a strategy that has made a real difference in Dr. Ruston's own home. 

Parenting kids has always had challenges, but now, in the tech revolution, conflicts are at a new level. The good news is that research shows that conflicts done well have all sorts of benefits for youth. But how do we ensure healthier conflicts? On today’s episode, Dr. Ruston talks with Lisa Damour, Ph.D. psychologist and author of three New York Times best-selling books about adolescents, including “The Emotional Lives of Teenagers.” The episode explores teen psychology, common screen time arguments, and several approaches to having healthier conflicts. The episode is intended for adult and youth audiences.

Lisa Damour’s website 

The Ask Lisa Podcast

Books by Lisa Damour:

Untangled

Under Pressure 

The Emotional Lives Of Teenagers

Concerns over Snapchat use by its many young users seem to be discussed much less than concerns over TikTok and Instagram. Yet, issues with Snapchat are plenty — be it social conflicts or the sexually explicit material that can be seen on the app. In today's episode, Dr. Ruston discusses these topics and more with a high school boy and a young woman in college. The guests discuss problems created by the App's Snapscore feature, which is a ranking given to users based on how many snaps they send or receive. In addition, they talk about social conflicts that can happen on the app, issues around sexual content, and suggestions to parents regarding when to allow the app and how to talk about it with kids.  

The birth of Snapchat

How Snapchat defines Snapscore

Snapchat’s Discover page and connection to Cosmo

About OnlyFans

In this episode, Dr. Delaney Ruston dives into the pressing issue of social media addiction through the story of one young person, Lars, and insights from the chief of addiction medicine at Stanford, Ana Lembke, MD, and longtime media researcher Douglas Gentile, PhD. Through Lar’s struggle with social media addiction, listeners gain an intimate look at the impact of social media on mental health and identity. The episode sheds light on the various ways compulsive social media use can impact a young person and delves into the science behind digital addiction. Ultimately, Dr. Ruston and her guests offer valuable tips on how to know when social media use is in the zone of a clinical addiction and, most importantly, how to help teens who are in that zone, or wobbling there, to break free. 

Anna Lembke, MD

Douglas Gentile, Ph.D.

Anna Lembke’s book, Dopamine Nation

Lars May and Half The Story

In this episode of The Screenagers Podcast, Dr. Delaney Ruston talks to author and psychologist Dr. Kristin Neff, Ph.D.,  about the power of self-compassion. They discuss the prevalent issue of self-criticism among parents, particularly regarding screen time, and how adopting self-compassion can help navigate such challenges. Dr. Neff and Dr. Ruston share personal parenting experiences along the way.  The episode provides practical advice to help listeners, parents, and teens initiate their own self-compassion practice.

Kristin Neff, PhD

Self-compassion and Psychological Resilience Among Adolescents and Young Adults (Self and Identity) 

Development and Validation of the Self-Compassion Scale for Youth (Journal of Personality Assessment) 

The Development and Assessment of a Scale to Measure Self Assessment  (Self and Identity)

Dr. Kristin Neff’s Website 

Two Books by Dr Neff:

Self Compassion: The Proven Power Of Being Kind To Yourself

Fierce Self-Compassion: How Women Can Harness Kindness to Speak Up, Claim Their Power, and Thrive