Equipping Godly Women Podcast

Raising Tech-Wise Kids in a World Designed to Capture Their Attention - with Chris McKenna

Brittany Ann

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0:00 | 31:10

Do you ever wonder what your kids are finding online? Or who's finding them?

Two juries just confirmed what parents have suspected all along: social media companies are knowingly designing their platforms in a way that harms children.

Last Tuesday, a New Mexico jury ordered Meta to pay $375 million after finding that the company misled consumers and knowingly allowed children to be exposed to predators and sexually explicit content.

The very next day, a California jury ruled that Meta and Google knowingly designed their platforms to be addictive and that those design choices caused real harm to a real person.

These verdicts open the door for regulation, but meaningful change could take years. In the meantime, it's our job as mamas to do what Big Tech won't: protect our kids and teach them how to navigate the online world wisely.

In this episode with Chris McKenna (founder of Protect Young Eyes and author of The 5 Habits of a Tech-Ready Family), we're talking about why every yes to technology requires ridiculously informed parenting, the five habits that create tech-wise families, and how to protect kids without becoming fearful or controlling.

Chris shares how apps are designed to exploit teenage brain development (targeting the reward center that asks "am I loved?"), what to do when all your kids' friends are on social media, and why modeling your own tech use matters more than the rules you set.

We talk about creating offline spaces for kids to connect with friends, how to say yes to technology without saying yes to every risk, and why you're more capable of this than you think, even when you feel overwhelmed.

This episode is for you if:
• You're terrified of invisible online dangers you don't fully understand
• You feel guilty for giving kids devices but stuck because everyone else has one
• You're exhausted being the only parent monitoring everything
• All your kids' friends are on social media and you don't know what to do
• You're overwhelmed by how fast technology changes
• You need practical steps, not just more fear

📖 RESOURCE MENTIONED:
Chris's book: "The 5 Habits of a Tech-Ready Family" https://amzn.to/3PBjHRg
(affiliate)

🔗 CONNECT WITH CHRIS:
Website: https://protectyoungeyes.com

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