Wait Until 8th
At St. Alphonsus, we support the Wait Until 8th pledge, which empowers parents to rally together to delay giving children a smartphone until at least the end of 8th grade. By banding together, this will decrease the pressure felt by kids and parents alike over the kids having a smartphone. Click for FAQs.
School Presentation
Slides from 6/5/2024 presentation on Technology & Media to school families. Includes results from family tech survey and compilation of research on media and youth.
Parental Controls
- Parental controls for different devices (iPads, gaming systems, TVs, phones, etc.)
- Parents’ Ultimate Guide to Parental Controls
Family Conversation Guides
- Setting the purpose of technology
- Setting family phone boundaries
- Talking with teens and preteens about pornography
- Axis conversation kits (dating, mental health, video games, drugs, etc.)
Before You Buy a Smartphone
Smartphones
- “My Phoneless 11-Year-Old Was Lost in Manhattan and Survived.” New York Times
- “Have Smartphones Destroyed a Generation?” The Atlantic
- “Communications time bomb: Parents’ smartphone use could be the new secondhand smoke.” USA Today
- “There’s a nasty world out there, and your kids should not have access to it by smartphone.” Chicago Tribune
- “I’m 16 and Traded My iPhone for a Flip Phone and I’ve Never Been Happier.” Seventeen Magazine
- “Grade School Students Who Own Cell Phones are More Likely to be Cyber bullied.” AAP News
- “I won’t buy my teenagers smartphones.” The Atlantic
- “The Children of Pornhub.” New York Times
Screen Time
- “Groundbreaking Study Examines Effects of Screen Time on Kids.” CBS 60 Minutes
- “Too Much Screen Time Can Have Lasting Consequences for Young Children’s Brains.” Time Magazine
- “Putting down your phone may help you live longer.” New York Times
- “Study: Limiting kids’ screen time improves brain function.” USA Today
- “What is “brain hacking”? Tech insiders on why you should care.” CBS 60 Minutes
Social Media
- Surgeon General Issues New Advisory About Effects Social Media Use Has on Youth Mental Health. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
- I Grew Up ‘Under A Rock’: My Parents Banned Social Media Until I was 17. I am Glad They Did. USA Today
- Facebook Knows Instagram Is Toxic for Teen Girls, Company Documents Show Wall Street Journal
- Instagram Is No place For Kids Bloomberg
- “How TikTok Serves Up Sex and Drug Videos To Minors.” Wall Street Journal
- “Mom Goes Under Cover as 11-Year-Old Girl.” Bark
- “Why Social Media is Not Smart for Middle School Kids.” Psychology Today
- “Three hours per day on social media can harm teens’ mental health, study finds.” Today Show
- “A New, More Rigorous Study Confirms: The More You Use Facebook, the Worse You Feel.” Harvard Business Review
- “I’m 17 And I Deleted All My Social Media. Here’s What Happened & why you should delete them too.” Medium
- “Instagram has a drug problem. Its algorithms make it worse.” Washington Post
Tech Executives
- “Steve Jobs was a low tech parent.” New York Times
- “Melinda Gates: I spent my career in technology. I wasn’t prepared for its effect on my kids.” Washington Post
- “The Designer Of The iPhone Says He Worries About The ‘Nuclear Bomb’ He Brought Into The World.” Thrive Global
- “Chris Anderson’s 12 rules for kids and screens.” Medium
Books to Read
Click for overview of each book.
Recommended Organizations
