Parenting in an age of social media.

From American Public Media, this is Marketplace Tech.

I'm Stephanie Hughes.

This week, we're looking at how kids use social media and the risks and rules around it.

It's part of our new series, The Infinite Scroll.

Yesterday, we talked about how checking social media can change adolescent's brains, making them more sensitive to feedback from their peers.

Today, we're going to look at what it's like to be a parent monitoring your kids' social media use.

One thing's clear. It can be a lot of work. I'm going to look at what it's like to be a parent monitoring your kids' social media use. One thing's clear. It can be a lot of work.

I'm going to just tell you that it's exhausting.

Jessica Tai lives right outside of Philadelphia. She's got three kids, it is 20, 17, and 14.

They weren't allowed to have smartphones until they reached eighth grade. And to start,

they couldn't have any social media apps on them. The phone lives in the kitchen. It certainly doesn't go to their

bedrooms. And that's kind of where we start. As the kids get into high school, they're allowed to

add a social media app or two, starting with a 15 minute a 15 minute a day time limit.

Ty says her goal is to raise kids who are digitally savvy, but also have a life outside of their devices.

But one big challenge is that lots of her kids' friends have had phones and been on social media

for years.

You know, my kids used to say, well, I mean, I'm at a friend's house and everyone's on their

phones and I'm just sitting there doing nothing.

And, you know, that I don't know what to do about.

Ty's youngest child, Milo, is an eighth grade.

And he says, yeah, by not being on social media, he is missing out.

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