Screen Deep

Most social media platforms provide child safety and content moderation features to help protect young users from harmful content and experiences. Do they work? Will changes required by lawsuits help? On this episode of Screen Deep, host Kris Perry discusses recent research into these questions with Dr. Laura Edelson, Assistant Professor at Northeastern University’s Khoury College of Computer Science and Co-Director of Cybersecurity for Democracy. Dr. Edelson highlights the need for greater transparency and data access so that researchers can better identify potential harms of social media, and describes her research findings on algorithmic feeds as well as the efficacy of youth safety features and content moderation. In the absence of platform features that truly work to protect children, Dr. Edelson  provides tips for parents on navigating social media use by their children.
In this episode, you will learn:
What research by Dr. Edelson shows about the failure rate and design of existing child safety features on leading social media platforms
Why it’s important that children’s accounts on social media use their real age – even if teen account protections are not fully effective
Why current content moderation filters on social media platforms fail to block harmful posts before young users see them
Why some of the “fixes” required for Meta as part of August 2026 lawsuit settlements may not be effective in reducing harm
Why social media platform transparency and independent research is needed to understand how social media causes harm to some youth but not others

For more resources and research on this topic visit the Learn and Explore section of the Children and Screens website (https://www.childrenandscreens.org)

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Instagram: @childrenandscreens
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Bluesky: @childrenandscreens.bsky.social

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Music: 'Life in Silico' by Scott Buckley - released under CC-BY 4.0. www.scottbuckley.com.au

Humans of all ages are increasingly relying on AI chatbots as intimate and always-supportive social companions. What are the costs of this reliance on “pretend empathy” when it comes to the development of social abilities and our expectations of human empathy and relationships? On this episode of Screen Deep, host Kris Perry explores these questions with Sherry Turkle, PhD, MIT Professor and author of the new book, Artificial Intimacy: Who We Become When We Talk to Machines. Dr. Turkle discusses the implications of human-like chatbots for children’s developing understanding of empathy and connection, and the societal impacts of accepting AI’s performance of these traits as replacements for the real thing. 
In this episode, you will learn:
How reliance on “artificial intimacy” with AI chatbots erodes our capacity for human care, tolerance, and empathy
Why constantly supportive AI tools make it more difficult to have real relationships which require navigating conflict or a different perspective
The dangers to children – and society – of growing up thinking machine relationships can replace human ones
How the business incentives behind AI tools encourage deeper attachment for profit 
Why use of AI chatbots for therapy, which may provide short term support,  cannot replicate a caring human therapist
How use of social media for emotional comfort has acted as a “gateway drug” to a more toxic attachment to chatbots

For more resources and research on this topic visit the Learn and Explore section of the Children and Screens website (https://www.childrenandscreens.org)

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Follow Children and Screens on: 
Facebook: Children and Screens: Institute of Digital Media and Child Development
Instagram: @childrenandscreens
LinkedIn: Children and Screens: Institute of Digital Media and Child Development
X: @childrenscreens
Bluesky: @childrenandscreens.bsky.social

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Music: 'Life in Silico' by Scott Buckley - released under CC-BY 4.0. www.scottbuckley.com.au

The early egalitarian promise of an open and free internet has morphed over the past three decades into an algorithm-driven experience that is designed to addict and extract data and money from adults and children alike. 
In this episode of Screen Deep, host Kris Perry is joined by renowned children’s digital rights advocate Baroness Beeban Kidron to learn how we got from “there” to “here” – and why making technology safer for children, rather than expecting children behave more safely on the internet, is a critical issue for our time. Kidron details why now is the “big tobacco” moment for tech platforms and child internet safety, and shares successful strategies for regulating tech platforms from the UK and Europe that could be used as a playbook for change elsewhere.
In this episode you will learn:
Why the egalitarian promise of the early internet has led to a “generational injustice” of children being treated as adults online
What designing and regulating the internet with the rights of children in mind should and could look like
How the 5Rights Foundation and other organization are increasing child safety online through regulation in Europe – and why it’s harder to make progress in the United States
How Kidron thinks the tech companies have controlled the narrative – and why they must be held to a “duty of care” towards children like any other business
How the business model of today’s tech companies impedes them from independently making their platforms safer for children

For more resources and research on this topic visit the Learn and Explore section of the Children and Screens website (https://www.childrenandscreens.org)

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Follow Children and Screens on: 
Facebook: Children and Screens: Institute of Digital Media and Child Development
Instagram: @childrenandscreens
LinkedIn: Children and Screens: Institute of Digital Media and Child Development
X: @childrenscreens
Bluesky: @childrenandscreens.bsky.social

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Music: 'Life in Silico' by Scott Buckley - released under CC-BY 4.0. www.scottbuckley.com.au

Has the widespread use of "educational" technology and AI in schools led to declines in children’s learning outcomes and skill development, rather than promised improvements? In this episode of Screen Deep, host Kris Perry is joined by author, educator, and neuroscientist Dr. Jared Cooney Horvath to discuss this and his updated book The Digital Delusion. Dr. Horvath outlines how the implementation of digital technologies in education has benefited corporations, not students or teachers. He explains the dangers of eliminating necessary cognitive “struggle” and offloading critical skill development in the name of efficiency. Tune in for insights on how the onslaught of AI in schools has intensified problematic trends in the edtech space, and what strategies teachers and parents can use to counteract these issues and help their children to better understand the necessarily messy process of learning.
In this episode, you will learn:
Why widespread tech adoption in schools has worsened – not improved – learning
Which essential parts of teaching and learning are displaced by educational tech use
Why tools like AI that boost efficiency for experts hinder learning for novices 
How expecting children to use the same devices for school and learning that they use for entertainment is a losing battle
What it means to take a “pro-learning” approach to tech in schools 
Why teachers need parents to help push back against tech use in schools

For more resources and research on this topic visit the Learn and Explore section of the Children and Screens website (https://www.childrenandscreens.org)

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Follow Children and Screens on: 
Facebook: Children and Screens: Institute of Digital Media and Child Development
Instagram: @childrenandscreens
LinkedIn: Children and Screens: Institute of Digital Media and Child Development
X: @childrenscreens
Bluesky: @childrenandscreens.bsky.social

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Music: 'Life in Silico' by Scott Buckley - released under CC-BY 4.0. www.scottbuckley.com.au

The usage of phones and tablets to help calm infants and young children in difficult moments is often effective in the moment – yet how is the development of self-calming skills affected by this common parenting practice long-term? On this episode of Screen Deep, host Kris Perry is joined by Dr. Peter Reschke, Associate Professor of Human Development at Brigham Young University and expert on early emotion and social development. Dr. Reschke details how babies and young children develop an understanding of emotions, why infant-caregiver interactions are critical for development, and shares recent research on how regularly using media at early ages to cope with negative emotions can affect later behavior and problematic media use.
In this episode, you will learn:
The powerful role parents play in helping infants and young children develop the skills to recognize, express, and regulate emotions
Why watching media together (known as  “co-viewing”) with young children can positively impact emotional development (and why solo media use may be disruptive) 
What the research says about giving phones and tablets to calm children  (and healthier ways to help them cope with difficult emotions)
How regular use of media or devices for emotion regulation in early childhood predicts problematic media use in later childhood
How an infant's nervous system reacts physiologically when parents are digitally distracted, according to research

For more resources and research on this topic visit the Learn and Explore section of the Children and Screens website (https://www.childrenandscreens.org)

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Follow Children and Screens on: 
Facebook: Children and Screens: Institute of Digital Media and Child Development
Instagram: @childrenandscreens
LinkedIn: Children and Screens: Institute of Digital Media and Child Development
X: @childrenscreens
Bluesky: @childrenandscreens.bsky.social

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Music: 'Life in Silico' by Scott Buckley - released under CC-BY 4.0. www.scottbuckley.com.au