Welcome to Parent Pixels, a parenting newsletter filled with practical advice, news, and resources to support you and your kids in the digital age. This week:
😕 9 in 10 teens have been cyberbullied, study says: If your child is online, there’s a good chance they’ve dealt with harassment. Cyberbullying is defined as willful and repeated harm inflicted through electronic devices, typically through social media, gaming platforms, or chat environments. Researchers surveyed nearly 2,700 middle and high school students in the U.S. and found that cyberbullying is widespread among adolescents, and it can lead to serious psychological harm.
The most common forms of cyberbullying reported by adolescents were:
The study found that cyberbullying of any type (no matter how subtle) could contribute to trauma symptoms, such as PTSD, anxiety, and emotional distress. “What mattered most was the overall amount of cyberbullying: the more often a student was targeted, the more trauma symptoms they showed,” lead researcher Sameer Hinduja said in a news release.
Kids might struggle to talk about cyberbullying because they fear social repercussions, like getting in trouble with their friend group or having their device taken away. If you haven’t already, talk to your child about what to do if someone makes them uncomfortable online and how to deal with a bully. For more tips, check out our guides on how to deal with cyberbullying through texting and what to do if you find out your child is the bully.
🤦 Instagram Teen Accounts still show sensitive content: Meta’s Teen Accounts are meant to give added protections to teen users, including limiting the ability for strangers to contact them and filter out sensitive content. But users report receiving recommended content that promoted eating disorders, explicit acts, and hate content, despite using Teen Accounts.
“The danger they face isn’t just bad people on the internet — it’s also the app’s recommendation algorithm, which decides what your kids see and demonstrates the frightening habit of taking them in dark directions,” writes Geoffrey A. Fowler of The Washington Post.
This is just another frustrating reminder that social media companies’ solutions aren’t foolproof and can fail in the places they’re meant to protect kids. This is also why a growing number of experts advocate for more parental oversight on their kids’ devices and regular online safety discussions. It’s still a good idea to set parental controls, but monitoring doesn’t stop there — it’s an ongoing series of conversations and check-ins.
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Not all screen time is created equal. While it’s easy for kids to fall into endless scrolling mode, screens can also be tools for connection, creativity, and fun. Here are five conversation-starters to help your tween or teen think about healthier, more intentional ways to use their devices this summer:
🍿 Need ideas for family movie night? Check out this list of new kids shows and movies coming to Netflix this month.
📵 “Teachers don’t have to fight an impossible battle against tech. Students talk to each other between classes. The cafeteria has the sound of conversation. Teachers cover material faster. Cyberbullying has fallen.” Gilbert Schuerch, a veteran high school teacher in Harlem, NYC, shares what happened at his school after they banned phones for a year.
🤯 Did you know that teens use an average of 40 apps per week? That’s a lot to keep up with. We’re working on an easier way to stay informed — stay tuned for news from BrightCanary.
