Hi Screen-Savvy Friend!

Today is "Internet Safety Day" and OH WOWWWW, since the explosion of users since 2020 and advances of AI, the internet has SERIOUSLY become a the most DANGEROUS place in America with no protections and boundless access to all sorts of harmful people and toxic content.

YIKES! And yet, these platforms continue to lie to parents telling them they are safe for kids and have their own safety measures in place... just like filtered cigarettes were the solution to outcry from experts shouting about the harms of tobacco.

To make matters worse, we have noticed that Family Media Plans limiting screens aren't working anymore if your child has already started viewing digital media. Why? Because for neurosensitive kids even an hour a day is too much! Plus the data collected on your child allows the platform's AI to be increasingly effective at keeping your kid hooked, serving up fast paced addictive content that is even more damaging to brain development and mental health than it was a year ago, a month ago, even a week ago. Yet still no government protection in sight, but the numerous Senate Hearing makes it CLEAR these platforms are KILLING our kids, literally and parents should take notice. The photo below is just a snapshot of a room filled with parents who lost their children because of influences online... with NO legal recourse to hold platforms accountable or prevent minors from accessing this toxic content. Sadly real protections are years and years away.

This leaves parents fighting to prevent youth digital intoxication-- like constantly snatching the mug away and sipping the top of the beer as the tap keeps flowing into your child's other cup.

And while tech companies have no liability, the guilty verdict today for Jennifer Crumbly, school shooter's mom now sets a precedent to point the finger at PARENTS who "don't do enough", and ignore mental health warning signs (that were surely deteriorated if not caused by his documented violent video game playing) along with access to guns. Leaving parents to police what kids are doing not only in person but also be aware of what they are watching and posting via these toxic, harmful platforms that should be 18+ restricted because of the risk and lack of app accountability. Yet another way tech companies can blame parents instead of themselves.

It's a big wake up call for our nation's youth mental health crisis. Until new laws protect all kids from these platforms, we need more parent resources and digital interventions to free youth from these platforms dragging them down. Digital wellness should be at the forefront of everyone's healthcare concerns as areas of technology harms grow unchecked at an exponential pace.

But we know managing screen time is a painful process for parents, and kids never get to know what it feels like to be tech-sober. Worse, parents can't tell what big neurological issues are being caused by sometimes even a little screen time because they have no baseline to reference after years of seemingly harmless cartoons, reels, and online games that were supposed to be beneficial like Lego Blocks and make our kids smarter actually make them act like they can't live without their constant supply -- but they can. And they flourish within just a few weeks with all screens removed. Doing a digital detox is easier than you think with the right guidance and we have cracked the code with our fail-proof method to help families get their kids back to feeling like... well a human kid should without so much distress and struggles so early in their life.

Want to hear about the amazing detox transformations the first set of our TechXpress Digital Detox clients have made since the program rolled out in December? Schedule a time with me to talk about how I've helped others and can also help your family... or clients/students if you work with youth.

If you missed the Brain Balance webinar in December overviewing the benefits of a screen reset with Dr. Jackson you can still view it here on demand! We had such an outpouring of parents wanting to take the digital detox plunge after watching this video, it really gives an excellent explanation of the science behind digital dangers.

A few last pearls of wisdom (yep this is a long email but if you are interested in the topic and even opened this email I know you are still reading)-- we need more examples of how teens FLOURISH without toxic tech dragging them down. Check out this podcast from This Way Up featuring a 18 year old's journey when he finally made the decision to kick those apps to the curb and give his OCD real relief. Too many parents think their kids NEED these toxic platforms that are actually harming them, there is a better way!

Another great way to protect kids and prevent bullying & phone addiction is to switch to a safe phone from Gabb that shields kids from harmful content with robust intelligent software to limit and monitor without kids jailbreaking settings on the iPhone.

Phew! I know that is a lot but this is an important topic. Keep up all the work you are doing to keep kids, yourself and your community safe from online harms. If you are a school or youth group and want more information about our parent seminars or workshops, take a moment to get on my calendar so we can TALK! Our content changes yearly, we can also do fundraising workshops for your PTA group and help parents rethink screen time with real solutions!

Knowledge is power and parents do better when they know better but it takes a village to protect our youth.

The team at Screen Time Clinic is here to support you with education and guidance for ALL ages when needed.

Virtual Hugs,

Nicole