401. Devorah Heitner: Growing Up in Public: Coming of Age in a Digital World

As with all things, I believe in finding people who can help us navigate the nuanced way forward - is there a way our kids can healthily grow up in public? 

Devorah Heitner PhD has been asking this with curiosity both as a parent and a researcher and in today’s show, we unpack exactly that question. Her book “Growing up in Public” is a must read so that we understand our kid’s social dynamics today better, and so that we know where boundary and protection are required, as well as curiosity and patience. 

Kids are growing up more in public than ever. While we discuss meaningful ways that we can ensure they get to live childhoods more connected to each other than they are to their screens, I genuinely feel it’s important to have a conversation about the world that exists and how best to navigate it, than to simply wish it weren’t like it was and ban everything. The tech algorithms favour fear and outrage and so nuanced explorations on this topic are hard to find. 

Please help me amplify it. 

Dr. Heitner’s work has appeared in the New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, and CNN Opinion. She has a Ph.D. in Media/Technology & Society from Northwestern University and has taught at DePaul and Northwestern. She is delighted to be raising her own teenager and she lives with her family in Chicagoland. 

Letting kids use phone during the school day? Bad idea. Using screens as babysitting to save on childcare costs? No judgement. It’s complicated with multiple things at play as to how many families got there. Kids needing more places to hang and connect than home or shopping centre mall? HECK yes. 

I hope you find the show useful. 

Alexx x

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