Selena Gomez on Taking Breaks from Instagram

Selena Gomez is a widely famous celebrity and with over 429M followers on Instagram, has more followers than any woman in the world.

And yet, at the 2024 TIME 100 Summit, she said that getting off the app was one of the best things she ever did.

“I took four years off of Instagram and I let my team post for me. I felt like it was the most rewarding gift I gave myself. I was more present I was happier.” She claimed it was “more human” to talk with her friends over the phone and hear about their lives, rather than posting and commenting. She also shared, “It’s important to take breaks.”

From Tom Holland, to Chris Evans, to Selena Gomez, they’ve all felt the immense pressure that comes from seeing everyone’s everything all the time. And if it’s too much for some of the world’s greatest stars, maybe it’s too much for our kids. Ask them how they’re doing. Be curious. You might learn something new.

UK Data on Kids, Phones, and Social Media

A survey from the UK Office of Communications (also called OfCom) of 2,480 parents with kids ages 3-17 revealed some shocking data:

• 25% of kids 3-4 own a smartphone.
• 38% of kids 5-7 use social media. 76% of them use a tablet. 6
• 5% of kids 5-7 send messages and make voice/video calls.
• 37% of kids 5-7 use WhatsApp and 30% are on TikTok. 5
• 0% of kids under 13 have social media.
• <95% of kids 12-15 own a smartphone.

These statistics are alarming when you consider the unique brain development that’s happening during these years. As leading pediatricians and mental health experts have told us, there’s zero evidence showing harm to kids who wait. And the data in Jon Haidt’s and Zack Rausch’s The Anxious Generation proves it. They get one precious childhood! And we think delay is the way.

Threads Adds Filtering Controls

Do you know what Threads is? It’s the Instagram version of Twitter or X with short posts. And since its release over 2 years ago, it has had zero parental controls.

Meta is now rolling out the ability to filter out specific words, phrases, and emojis – just like on Instagram. Users can add their own phrases to the list that they just don’t want to read. Just go to Settings, then “manage custom words and phrases” and enter a word or phrase you want restricted.

Our Threads app review is fully updated for you!

AI Safety by Design

Thorn is a cutting-edge child safety organization that works heavily on the tech side of harm. And they are now partnering with All Tech is Human, another non-profit, to create a set of Safety by Design principles for AI.

What does this mean? In a perfect world, humanity wouldn’t release technology unless it adheres to a set of standards that protect children. This is what I was arguing for in Switzerland at the World Economic Forum. But we don’t live in that world. So Thorn is desperately trying to help the industry catch up.

The explosion of AI-generated child sexual abuse content – essentially, fabricated images of children in illegal acts, should prove that we have a massive global issue. We applaud Thorn and their efforts.

To learn more about the risks of AI and Deepfakes, we have a complete guide with 15 tips for families.

Ohio to Reduce Phone Use in Schools

Great job Ohio! The Ohio Senate has passed a bill that limits student cellphone use in school. It would require public schools to create their own policies for limiting phone use during school hours.

It won’t require a school-wide cellphone ban (although the schools could take that approach), but rather, the bill requires the school’s phone policies to “emphasize minimal use and least amount of distraction…”

Applause! We love this. It’s not passed yet – first to the House and then the Governor, but we’re hopeful. Head to phonefreeschools.com to learn why it’s so crucial for students to have their devices “away for the day” at school.

TikTok Ban is Law, Now What?

As you probably know, President Biden signed a law requiring TikTok to divest or be banned.

TikTok’s CEO, Shou Chew, intends to fight in court and has said, “Rest assured, we aren’t going anywhere. We are confident and we will keep fighting for your rights in the courts. The facts and the Constitution are on our side, and we expect to prevail again.”

The next year or so will contain lengthy legal processes in determining how this law plays out. Regardless of what happens legally, TikTok is simply too addictive for some brains. And like all social media, please choose “slow.” Delay is the way.

Meta’s “AI Girlfriend” Ads are Out of Control

WIRED revealed that Meta (Facebook and Instagram) is hosting thousands of ads for “AI Girlfriend” apps. In our own research on Meta’s Ad Library, we found results for over 16,000 “AI Girlfriend” ads, most of which featured borderline NSFW thumbnails and even a few videos.

The content often showed an AI-generated woman in little or very tight clothing, often with buttons on the sides that read “Take off pants” or “Take off bra,” while some ads showed a toggle for how the user could customize the female avatar’s features, often changing the size of specific body parts.

Other ads stated the AI Girlfriend could satisfy you sexually in less than a minute, while others offered emotional support and claimed they would “Always be there for you.”

Meta’s policies restrict ads that sell sex, but their rules aren’t applying to AI and that’s a problem.

Parents, please be aware that kids logged into Facebook might find these ads – either on the platform itself or by using the ad library as a back door to this kind of content. Everything connected to the internet must be monitored in an age-appropriate way. Stay curious and stay involved! Visit our website for app-specific guidance anytime.

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“Chris, help! We have a tech emergency!”

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