Smart References
A collection of key content from sources around the globe.
Articles
"Phones? No. We had each other."
Read from a teen's perspective how she feels smartphones have robbed the Gen Z population of basic childhood experiences. "The loneliness, yes, but also the grief. The loss. The feeling of wanting to be free from the only world we’ve ever known."
How smartphones affect tweens and what alternatives can keep kids safe.
When's the right time to start your child with a phone? Is 12 too young? Here's what a professional screen time consultant tells parents about the risks kids face online.
More comfortable online than out partying, post-Millennials are safer, physically, than adolescents have ever been. But they’re on the brink of a mental-health crisis.
More than two dozen states have sued Meta over allegations that its social media platforms can be addicting and violate consumer protection and child safety laws.
Radical measures will be required to win back our independence from our devices
Dopamine is part of an ancient neural pathway that ensures human survival. It is also part of the reason it is so hard to stop playing a video game or pass up a cupcake.
Tweens, teens and their parents have mixed reviews of the new restrictions amid concerns about the effects on safety. Advocates cite benefits on young people’s academic achievement and mental health.
Books
Haidt, Jonathan (2024). The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness. Penguin Press.
Twenge, Jean M. (2017). iGen: Why Today’s Super-Connected Kids Are Growing Up Less Rebellious, More Tolerant, Less Happy—and Completely Unprepared for Adulthood—and What That Means for the Rest of Us. Atria Books.
Rich, Michael with Teresa Baker (2024). The Mediatrician’s Guide: A Joyful Approach to Raising Healthy, Smart, Kind Kids in a Screen-Saturated World. Harper Horizon.
Lembke, Anna (2023). Dopamine Nation: Finding Balance in the Age of Indulgence. Dutton.
Hari, Johann (2022). Stolen Focus: Why You Can’t Pay Attention—and How to Think Deeply Again. Crown.
Loechner, Erin (2024). The Opt-Out Family: How to Give Your Kids What Technology Can’t. Zondervan.
Podcasts
Debunk the common misconception that preteens and teens are fully prepared for group texting and identify ten prevalent issues within group texting and media sharing.
Videos
Anna Lembke is professor of psychiatry at Stanford University School of Medicine and chief of the Stanford Addiction Medicine Dual Diagnosis Clinic. A clinician scholar, she has published more than a hundred peer-reviewed papers, book chapters, and commentaries.
Delve into the fascinating world of adolescent brain development with Dr. Siegel, Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at UCLA School of Medicine. In this enlightening video, Dr. Siegel unveils the intricacies of the adolescent brain's remodeling process, offering keen insights into the behaviors and motivations of young individuals during this transformative period. Suitable for children.
Resource References
A neurodevelopmental guide for parents and families who want to prevent youth-high risk behavior, by Crystal Collier, Phd, LPC-S.
ScreenStrong gives you the reasons WHY and HOW to remove access to toxic screens (video games, social media, pornography) from developing brains.
No nonsense, no arguments, no complicated
parental controls or impossible rules.
Protect Young Eyes shows families, schools, and churches how to create safer digital spaces. They offer a great website, powerful presentations, and a unique learning app for parents who have ZERO free time (and squirrel-chasing, no-focus brains).
Parent ProTech exists to equip families to safely navigate technology. They offer a Family Resource Platform that provides comprehensive videos and resources to guide families through trends and parental controls, and partner with several of our Smart Families schools.