How to Protect Children from Social Media and AI
The Michael Shermer Show
Michael Shermer
4.3 • 1K Ratings
🗓️ 9 September 2025
⏱️ 31 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Parenting today often feels like an uphill battle, with technology invading every corner of our kids' lives. From the rise of social media addiction to the growing mental health crisis among children and teens, parents are grappling with how they can create a healthy, balanced relationship with technology for their kids.
Drawing on her decades as a psychologist studying the impact of technology and mental health, Jean Twenge offers evidence-based advice for raising independent and well-rounded children.
Jean Twenge, a professor of psychology at San Diego State University and the author of more than 190 scientific publications and several books based on her research, including Generation Me, iGen, and Generations, which we discussed on this show. Her research has been covered in Time, The Atlantic, Newsweek, and The Washington Post. She has also been featured on Today, Good Morning America, Fox and Friends, CBS This Morning, Real Time with Bill Maher, and NPR. Her new book is Ten Rules for Raising Kids in a High-Tech World.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | You're listening to The Michael Shermer Show. |
| 0:16.4 | All right, hey everybody, it's Michael Shermer, and it's time for another episode of the Michael Shermer show. |
| 0:20.9 | My returning champion guest today is Gene Twengie, a professor of psychology at San Diego State University, |
| 0:27.8 | and the author of more than 190 scientific publications and several books based on a research, |
| 0:33.9 | including Generation Me, IGen, and Generations, which we discussed on the show. |
| 0:40.4 | That was her previous book. |
| 0:41.9 | Her research has been covered in Time, The Atlantic, Newsweek, the New York Times, USA Today, and the Washington Post. |
| 0:48.3 | She's been featured on the Today Show, Good Morning America, Fox and Friends, CBS This morning real time with Bill Mar and NPR. |
| 0:56.1 | She lives in San Diego with her husband and three daughters, so she knows from what she speaks |
| 1:00.3 | about her new book, Ten Rules for Raising Kids in a High Tech World. All right, Jean, nice to see you again. |
| 1:08.0 | How are you? I'm good. How are you doing? |
| 1:10.2 | You're on your book tour this week. I have to tell you, I don't know how many times you've ever heard by show, but I plug your generation's book all the time. It is one of the most important books I have ever read, honestly, because you have a theoretical model overarching all the specifics that kind of tie them together, namely this life, what is |
| 1:29.5 | life history theory that I really liked. |
| 1:31.5 | It explains a lot. |
| 1:32.5 | Right. |
| 1:33.1 | It explains a lot. |
| 1:34.0 | And since your book came out, I think it's pretty clear that the problem is no longer |
| 1:38.8 | debatable. |
| 1:39.7 | It really is a problem. |
| 1:40.9 | The link between social media technology and the spike in depression, anxiety, |
| 1:48.3 | suicidal ideation, unhappiness, and so on, right? |
| 1:52.3 | Yeah, absolutely. |
... |
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