The Big Tech Gut Check is a weekly update for parents on all things social media and Big Tech. Updates for this week: Meta AI Wants to Access Your Camera Roll, Analyze Pics You Haven't UploadedLeaked Documents Show Meta is Training Chatbots to Message You First, Remember Chats, Keep You TalkingFormer Facebook CEO says Site Should be Banned for ChildrenMIT Study Shows Weakened Cognitive Capacity with AI UseANGELQ: A Kid-Safe Web BrowserPARENT SURVEY: AI and EdTech in SchoolUtah Sues Snapchat for Harming ChildrenSnapchat Sues Utah Over Age Verification LawTHORN: State of Sextortion in 2025Rolling Stone: Inside Snapchat's Teen Opioid Crisis
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9:37
Defeating the Tech Narcissists (with Gaia Bernstein)
Don’t feel guilty—get angry. And then turn that anger into action.In this powerful episode, law professor and Unwired author Gaia Bernstein joins Nicki from Scrolling 2 Death to talk about the growing crisis of tech addiction—and how it’s impacting our kids. Gaia studied law and technology in the early 2000s, a time marked by great optimism about the promise of global connectivity. As social media gained traction, Gaia grew suspicious. She began raising alarms in 2017, long before most people realized the toll constant screen time and social media would take on mental health. Today, those warnings have become reality: teen depression has doubled, and suicide rates among young girls have quadrupled.Now, instead of fixing the problem, Big Tech is pushing even more addictive tools, like AI chatbots, into our kids’ lives.Gaia wants to remind parents that we’re not powerless and we’re not to blame. Real change won’t come from Silicon Valley. It starts with us: parents, educators, and communities acting from the ground up. Tune in to hear why the time to act is now—and how you can help protect the next generation.
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29:26
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29:26
A Tech-Safe Summer: Strategies for Healthier Habits (with Titania Jordan)
Summer’s here—and that means more sunshine, more free time… and a lot more screen time. In this episode, Nicki Petrossi sits down with Titania Jordan to talk about the ups, downs, and everything-in-between of parenting through summer break. They swap stories, explore why boredom is actually a gift, and share practical ways to help kids unplug, get outside, and build independence. From setting healthy tech boundaries to using kid-friendly tools that actually work, this is a real talk on how to survive—and enjoy—summer with your kids (without letting devices take over).This episode is sponsored by Bark Technologies.Learn about the Bark Phone.Learn about the Bark App for iPhones and Androids. *Use code SCROLLING2DEATH FOR 10% OFFLearn about the Bark Watch.
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Former Snapchat Exec Speaks Out: Why Kids Aren’t Safe Online (with Sarah Gallagher Trombley)
What happens when a Big Tech insider turns child advocate and parent educator? In this powerful conversation, Sarah Gallagher Trombley — former Snapchat executive — joins Nicki Petrossi to pull back the curtain on the hidden dangers kids face on social media. From Snapchat to TikTok, YouTube to Instagram, no platform is safe. Sarah shares the uncomfortable truth about what parental controls can’t fix, why smart devices are riskier than most parents realize, and how platforms are failing our kids. If you're a parent, this episode has the facts you can't afford to miss.Sarah Gallagher Trombley is digital parenting author, speaker and thought leader. Her mission is to help parents navigate the digital world with and for their kids by providing insight, advice and practical tips. Sarah helps parents with the “how” - how to manage parental controls, social media, choosing devices, video games & more.Sarah has reached thousands of parents through her popular newsletter, Thoughts From A Digital Mom, as well as through speaking events and social accounts. She has two award winning on-demand courses for parents: Tweens and Tech: How to Deal with Group Chat, Social Media and Devices and All About Apple: How To Set Up Parental Controls For Any Apple Device.Sarah currently holds a strategic advisor role on the Board of Wait Until 8th.Connect with Sarah on her website and Substack.
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Digital safety: What every parent should know (with Lavanya Gupta)
Lavanya Gupta, CEO and Founder of Silana Learning and a former Meta employee, is raising awareness about the hidden dangers of tech. With insight into the inner workings of Big Tech, she made the deliberate choice to keep her young daughters offline. But when the pandemic hit and remote learning became a necessity, she realized the inescapable - and often harmful - role that digital platforms can play, even in the classroom.Many parents assume that school-approved apps are safe, but Lavanya warns otherwise. Her top concern? Data privacy. “Schools are consenting on behalf of parents without considering long-term consequences,” she says. Invited by her children’s school to help shape tech policies, she found her mission: empowering parents to protect their kids online.Lavanya shares practical strategies for digital safety, rates apps based on the strength of their parental controls, and offers guidance on age-appropriate media use - all backed by research and real-world insights.Don’t miss this conversation with Nicki from Scrolling 2 Death and Lavanya Gupta - packed with tips, best practices, and must-know advice to keep your kids safe online.Hindenburg Research Report
Scrolling 2 Death is a podcast for parents who are worried about social media. Through interviews with parents and experts, we explore smartphone use, screen time, school-issued devices, social media use and so much more.
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