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:
🤖 Meta’s AI rules let chatbots have inappropriate conversations with kids: Today in “Why We Don’t Trust Big Tech Companies to Keep Kids Safe” — a shocking investigation from Reuters should concern anyone who cares about child online safety. An internal Meta document detailing policies on chatbot behavior found that the company permits its AI chatbots to engage in “romantic or sensual” conversations with children to an extent that is, to use an academic term, gross AF. (The policies draw a line at sexually explicit conversations, but the examples provided by Reuters walk right up to that line.)
Meta’s AI can be found across Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram. The policy document was approved by Meta’s legal, public policy, and engineering staff, including its chief ethicist. The document also permits blatantly false and racist content. Meta said the company is in the process of revising the document and that such conversations with children never should have been allowed, despite it going through literally three departments.
While AI chatbots can help entertain and even support kids, Meta’s lack of content filtering for its most vulnerable users should be a red flag for everyone. AI is part of your child’s social media experience if they use Instagram, WhatsApp, or Facebook, and this recent news underscores the importance of monitoring their use — because tech companies aren’t going to.
BrightCanary can help you keep track of what your child types across all the apps they use on their iPhone and iPad, including AI chatbot apps. On our blog, we covered how to protect your child from the risks of social AI chatbots.
👀 What are teens experiencing on social media? Negative headlines about social media abound, but what about the positives? In a recent study, researchers investigated early teens’ (ages 12–15) experiences online, and the results might surprise you. Over a 15-day period, 59% of teens reported any negative experience on social media (like bullying or seeing people post about drugs), while an overwhelming majority (90%!) of teens reported any positive experience.
According to study author Jacqueline Nesi, PhD, 80% of teens said they saw something that made them feel happy or inspired, 78% had someone share something funny or entertaining with them, and 57% said people said supportive or encouraging things.
In comparison, 39% of teens said they saw something that made them feel upset or uncomfortable, 18% said someone made negative comments or said mean things, and 7% were bullied, harassed, or teased.
“This does not mean we can or should dismiss the negatives — but it’s a good reminder to make sure we’re talking to teens about the good stuff, too,” Nesi wrote.
📱 Webinar: How to make social media as safe as it CAN be: Feeling overwhelmed with all the ins and outs of social media? Don’t miss this webinar series, beginning Sept. 8: “Safe Social Media?!?” by Digital Mom Media and Healthy Screen Habits.
In this webinar, you’ll learn everything you need to make social media as safe as possible — how to get started, what to know about popular platforms, and how to build a sustainable social media plan. Learn more and get your tickets today at a special rate.
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We often focus on the risks of social media, but it’s worth remembering that teens also find joy and connection online.. The key is balance: encouraging positive use while protecting their sleep and well-being by keeping devices out of bedrooms at night. Here are some conversation starters to help you talk with your teen about healthy social media habits:
🚽 Bad news if you’re feeling delulu about all the new slang terms your kids are using: “skibidi,” “delulu,” and “tradwife” are among the latest words added to the Cambridge Dictionary, which only adds words that have staying power. No word on rizz, though.
‼️Character.AI now has a social feed, in which AI chatbots can post thoughts and pictures to a feed and interact with humans.
📵 What’s the one tech rule that will “future-proof” your kids? No screens in the bedroom. Find out why via The Atlantic.
