Screenagers Podcast

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Join Delaney Ruston, MD — a leading authority on parenting in the screen age and the filmmaker behind the award-winning Screenagers movies — as she explores the challenges parents face raising kids in today's digital world: think smartphones, social media, video games, and more. Through interviews with experts, thought leaders, and young people themselves, Parenting in the Screen Age delivers the latest science, practical tips, and key insights that parents will want to implement — and share — with their kids and teens.

Recent Episodes
  • Screen Time, Teens and Therapy: What Parents Need to Know
    May 12, 2025 – 28:54
  • How Screens Trap Teens In Depression — Jean Twenge Explains the Trap
    Apr 28, 2025 – 29:53
  • Tradwives, the Manosphere, and Online Sexism: What Can Parents Do?
    Apr 15, 2025 – 32:01
  • Inside a Middle School’s Fight Against Smartphone-Fueled Cruelty and Bullying
    Mar 31, 2025 – 25:36
  • Raising Independent Kids: The Issue of Phone Trackers with America’s ‘Worst’ Mom
    Mar 17, 2025 – 34:22
  • How One School’s Bold Move to Lock Away Phones Transformed Learning
    Mar 3, 2025 – 19:02
  • What Does “Hookup Culture” Actually Mean? Answers for Parents and Teens
    Feb 17, 2025 – 30:00
  • Is It Okay for Kids and Teens to Be Angry With Their Parents?
    Feb 10, 2025 – 21:34
  • How Smartwatches Are Subverting School No-Phone Policies
    Feb 3, 2025 – 21:43
  • Teens, Roblox, and Real Money: A Parents Guide to In-Game Purchases
    Jan 27, 2025 – 26:27
  • Talking to Your Teen About Sex: Advice for Parents
    Jan 13, 2025 – 20:16
  • Managing Meltdowns and Easing Sibling Screen Time Conflicts
    Dec 30, 2024 – 21:13
  • Jonathan Haidt Explains the Youth Mental Health Crisis (Encore)
    Dec 16, 2024 – 22:49
  • How to Motivate Our Kids Without Nagging Them!
    Dec 2, 2024 – 44:01
  • Why School Safety Experts Want Phone Bans
    Nov 18, 2024 – 22:09
  • Kids Using AI Chatbots: The Risks Parents Can’t Ignore
    Nov 4, 2024 – 31:05
  • The Sleep Crisis: Addressing Melatonin and Tech as Sleep Aids
    Oct 21, 2024 – 26:00
  • Tackling Problematic Social Media Use
    Oct 8, 2024 – 24:07
  • How to Delay Social Media and Smartphone Use With Wait Until 8th
    Oct 1, 2024 – 28:50
  • Instagram Unfiltered: Teens Tell All (Encore)
    Sep 23, 2024 – 29:28
  • Parenting Tips from Screenagers: Elementary School Age Edition
    Sep 9, 2024 – 13:09
  • How ZYN's Social Media Strategy is Driving Teen Nicotine Addiction
    Aug 26, 2024 – 18:47
  • How Smartphones Are Pushing Schools to Breaking Point
    Aug 12, 2024 – 30:26
  • How A Teen Run Instagram Account Shook a School (Encore)
    Aug 5, 2024 – 48:40
  • Instagram Unfiltered: Teens Tell All
    Jul 22, 2024 – 29:28
  • From Junk Food to Social Media: How Teens Get Manipulated
    Jul 8, 2024 – 22:48
  • How Our Own Trauma Impacts Our Parenting
    Jun 24, 2024 – 31:36
  • Jonathan Haidt Explains the Youth Mental Health Crisis
    Jun 10, 2024 – 22:49
  • How Media Is Fueling A Risky Sexual Practice Among Teens
    May 27, 2024 – 26:28
  • Screen Time Parenting With Positive Discipline
    May 13, 2024 – 35:02
  • Mean Behind The Screens
    Apr 29, 2024 – 27:06
  • Absolute Yes To Fighting Less (Rerun)
    Apr 15, 2024 – 21:50
  • Acing Screen Time Conflicts with Lisa Damour
    Apr 1, 2024 – 40:40
  • Snapchat Uncovered - Teens Discuss Pitfalls of this Popular App
    Mar 18, 2024 – 19:47
  • Is Social Media Addiction A Real Thing?
    Mar 4, 2024 – 27:17
  • How Self-Compassion Can Make Parenting Easier
    Feb 19, 2024 – 33:20
  • How to Address the Hardest Screen Time Parenting Dilemmas
    Feb 5, 2024 – 26:37
  • Decoding Adolescent Decision Making on Screens and Off
    Jan 22, 2024 – 18:49
  • How Does Our Digital Age Impact Teen Weed Use?
    Jan 8, 2024 – 23:38
  • How Much Do We Really Know About Teen Vaping?
    Dec 11, 2023 – 21:38
  • A Teen Run Instagram Account Shook a School and the Lessons Learned
    Nov 29, 2023 – 48:40
  • When Screen Time Rules Are Broken
    Jul 11, 2023 – 11:14
  • Love Ambush
    Jun 24, 2023 – 10:25
  • Teen Love, Hookups And How To Talk About It All
    Jun 19, 2023 – 15:33
  • Podcast Recommendations for the Whole Family This Summer
    Jun 13, 2023 – 09:17
  • Summer Reset — Online and Offline
    Jun 6, 2023 – 09:44
  • One Girl's Experience With Online Gaming And Strangers
    Dec 21, 2021 – 17:10
  • Why Care About Social And Emotional Learning?
    Aug 28, 2021 – 12:37
  • Two Moms, Two Experiments In Less Screen Time
    Jul 27, 2021 – 14:02
  • Parents In Conflict Over Screen Time
    Jul 12, 2021 – 15:18
Recent Reviews
  • friend of animals
    Very important and helpful
    I find Dr Ruston’s guests to be quite skilled and have learned a lot which I use daily with my children. I appreciate her openness and non judgmental attitude, talking with teens, yet offering current data on how screens and social media are harming children. I am so grateful for her ongoing work to help with this huge issue. My only critique would be that I haven’t yet heard anyone besides Jonathan Haidt recommend not allowing phones or social media until after 16. I would like to hear more from experts or parents who have taken the phone away or blocked social media and Snapchat, and how did that work out? Thanks!!
  • Sense sensib…
    Trad Wives podcast boo
    It’s assumed that guys have it “all”- they don’t. Both males and females have roles within the marriage to fulfill. A lot of marriage failures are from either side selfishly not doing their part leading to lack of trust and ultimate dissolution. If there are children, it leaves generational scarring. Let husbands and wives serve each other with joy, pass it on to future generations. In addition, maybe we can bump up our declining birth rate here in the USA and the world! Delaney, I will give your phone related podcasts and movies 5 stars, thanks for your efforts in this arena!
  • Natalie AM
    Current topics, practical advice
    I have learned SO much from Delaney Ruston’s entire platform - between her documentary movies, newsletters, books and this podcast. I love that the podcast episodes aren’t too long and can listen in the car, while doing dishes, etc. The topics are relevant to what teens/tweens are actually going through, and she offers solid, practical advice for how to parent amidst the challenges, by sometimes even role-playing what to say in certain scenarios. Highly recommend this podcast!
  • Easleymon
    Dr Ruston is so incredibly helpful!
    I am so excited to have this podcast as an ongoing resource and I’m letting my friends know about it! 👍
  • Elwood Brewster
    Practical guidance
    Not just good information, but practical - including the advice that parenting fails when you tell teens what to do, as opposed to including them in decision-making, or guiding them to make their own good decisions.
  • Hols57
    Too much background noise!
    The content is very good- but the background noise is very disturbing!!
  • Vernon Heights
    So helpful!
    I’m not a parent or a teen and I still find this podcast so helpful in considering the impact of tech on our lives and strategies for all kinds of relationships (with myself, my screens, and my loved ones). The Love Ambush episode was an especially poignant reminder about the power of community care when someone is struggling.
  • ScreenFreeParenting
    Well-informed and Relatable
    As a physician and parent, Delaney has been there and does a wonderful job sharing personal and professional wisdom. I’m so glad to have her practical approach in this podcast format!
  • The_girlly
    A MUST LISTEN
    Everyone should be listening to this podcast as it is simply amazing.
  • NkFenske
    Fantastic
    These are the key issues we should be considering and discussing for the mental and physical health of the future generation.
  • friendlyneighborhoodChase
    Highly Informative
    I appreciate the combination of perspectives Dr. Ruston brings into each episode. This podcast is both super informative and a great conversation starter. The recent vaccine one was especially timely. I learned a lot!
  • Mark's Work Computer
    AMAZING VACCINE EPISODE
    I’m a junior in college and even I learned a lot! I had no idea how many covid vaccines were actually being worked on and how collaborative it actually is. Sharing with my friends ASAP.
  • Joyfulling
    An “in the trenches” view
    I highly recommend this. Her perspective as a parent as well as a doctor and the access she has to other high level professionals and the interviews with youth, strike an incredible, well rounded, perspective. I have really appreciated these podcasts and the Screenager movies and her blog emails. We are not alone in this struggle to understand how to raise healthy, happy, balanced children in our beautiful ever evolving tech soaked world.
  • A D Kimbell
    Calm, clear advice from a science perspective
    I love everything from Dr. Ruston. Her films and Tech Tuesday emails are rich with content and worthwhile advice. What I particularly appreciate in her podcast is hearing her talk to the kids — this gives us parents a model of how we can engage with our kids in a warm, respectful way. And she considers the positive aspects of technology, rather than metaphorically throwing out the baby with the bath water. I highly recommend this podcast.
  • Hakuna Matata Ambassador
    amazing podcast for me!
    after watching the screenagers movie (i didn’t watch second chapter, since it doesn’t apply to me) and creating a contract, i wanted something to listen to while working or doing productive things. this podcast is great because i can stay focused while watching it, enjoy what im listening to, and i find it helpful when keeping my screen use in check. this is just an overall great podcast. i also like how, similar to the screenagers movie, it includes what kids and teens like me think about these subjects. i really recommend this podcast.
  • merle1818
    My Thoughts
    We have 3 teenagers and we had a screening of this movie at my daughter’s middle school. I couldn’t make it that evening so I signed up for the email list. I never seemed to have time to read them. They always seemed to make it into my archive for later. Finally, I have an easy way to get this information. It is so worth the wait - can’t wait for the next one!! Thank you!!
  • JillM1212
    So helpful!
    There were many practical tips . I am so enjoying listening listening
  • all Han high I us Co MTV
    Awesome podcast!
    These episodes are really informative and entertaining I loved hearing from teens and experts and I plan to keep listening
  • VBHikinglady
    Great information
    This podcast gives a mix of experts & teens dealing with screen issues. Great to listen to alone and with your kids.
  • Kel Nicole
    Helped my gaming-obsessed son immensely!
    I listened to this episode with my 12-year-old son who has gotten lost in gaming this summer. When we listened to the podcast, he started crying, saying that he realizes it might be an addiction. He is now willing to set a timer and do low-dopamine activities after the timer goes off. It was so nice to listen to the podcast and have him draw his own conclusions, rather than us as parents coming down hard on him. Thank you so much for this podcast!!
  • jd000000000003
    Very Relevant!!
    This podcast is so needed! Dad of 3 teens, and I love how teens themselves are sharing their insights on these topics. Keep it going!!
  • Diannvdp
    Brain biology
    This pod cast has put into words every g I have been saying to my children and my spouse. But in terms of the physical and metal impact. It really hit the targets for me. I’m going to sit down and listen to this with my family. I really thought the idea of equal time on and off the screen is brilliant. I look forward to more of these podcasts.
  • Losa "practical solutions"
    From the expert
    Screenagers is THE resource for thoughtful education and discussion on this important topic for families and society. So glad to have this talent in podcast form too.
  • BJA789
    Helpful!
    So grateful for help in navigating such a large part of my kids lives. I appreciate the wisdom and guidance in Screenagers!
  • BobC9453
    I’m a dad and this is great
    This show is so needed!! Love it
  • matt_c88
    I’m in college and find this podcast helpful
    I listened and enjoyed this and really recommend it!
  • mommyjoy3
    Love hearing from the teens!
    It’s really great to hear from other teenagers besides my own to understand what’s happening in the culture.
  • DeliciousAlex
    So helpful for parents of teens! A necessary listen for modern parents
    The movies were incredible, and I’m SO glad for the ongoing consistent support with this podcast! I learn a lot about my own habits and media usage, so my kid gets his support just like Mom!
  • Parker789
    Loved the Tik Tok episode!
    Listening to teenagers who are in the mist of this and hearing the doctor follow up on their goals was really interesting! This is so timely now as Tik Tok has blown up on the news. A must listen!
  • Giggggggidy woop
    Helpful Insights
    Very helpful insights that build on information from the Screenagers documentaries. Particularly useful in these challenging times, when screens are becoming an even more integral part of our daily lives.
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