’Growing Up In Public’ With Author Dr. Devorah Heitner

Growing up on the internet may not be as bad as we thought. The first generation of kids exposed to a fully digital childhood is coming of age. Their childhoods have been radically different than their parents' childhoods. That's led a lot of parents to instinctively want to control kids' access to things like screen time and social media by installing limits and trackers on phones. It's like a digital tug-of-war between parent and child with sometimes unintended consequences. Dr. Devorah Heitner is an expert in all things family and tech and she has spent years looking at the impact of screens on kids. Her new book, Growing Up in Public, examines the good and bad about growing up in a digital world. Her message is non-judgmental and in many ways, she's more positive about teen screen exposure than their parents are. In fact, a lot of teens are expressing frustration with their parents after, in some cases, discovering how much of their childhood was shared on social media. Heitner says parents often express frustration with how much their kids share online. But, in her experience, kids often have a better grasp of online privacy than kids do. Heitner says, "I have met so many kids who are so embarrassed by things that their parents are posting. When I go into schools, I'll ask kids to step in a circle if their friends have posted something that's embarrassing, and about half the kids will step in. Then, if I say step in if your parents have ever posted something embarrassing, and 100% of the kids will step into the circle." On this Dying to Ask: What it's like to grow up in public. Why Heitner emphasizes mentoring over monitoring. Two things parents should do before posting about their kids on social media. A warning for schools and families when it comes to education apps that track assignments and grades. Why Heitner isn't a fan of tracking apps like Life 360.