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Coming of Age in a Digital World with Devorah Heitner

interviews Sep 15, 2023

 

On today’s episode of Here’s Where It Gets Interesting, Sharon sits down with Dr. Devorah Heitner, author of Growing Up in Public: Coming of Age in a Digital World and Screenwise: Helping Kids Thrive (and Survive) in Their Digital World. At a time where every minor detail, fleeting thought, and potential misstep can be publicly documented and scrutinized online, how are parents, teenagers, and mentors expected to navigate growing up in the digital age? We all want the “right” answers, and have valid questions such as, when is it ok for a kid to have their own phone? How does one safely help their child navigate texting and social media? And where is the line between allowing someone to make mistakes, learn from them, and move forward, versus having controversial posts haunt them the rest of their lives? Let’s dive in together, with radical empathy, for kids who are growing up in a digital world.

Special thanks to our guest, Devorah Heitner, for joining us today. 

Links to Full Episode

 

About the Guest:

Dr. Devorah Heitner is the author of Growing Up in Public: Coming of Age in a Digital World and Screenwise: Helping Kids Thrive (and Survive) in Their Digital World. Her 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. 

 

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