Half the Answer #4: Youths and Technology

Caitlin M. Green, Trent R. Nelson, Melissa Fisher Paoni Mar 26, 2025

Trent and Caitlin ask Clinical Psychologist Dr. Melissa Fisher Paoni about problem technology use among children and teens, how to help them stay safe without crossing the line into over-surveillance or excessive restriction, and why one-size-fits-all policies are often insufficient.

Half the Answer can be heard on Spotify, on Apple, on YouTube, on Amazon, and elsewhere via its RSS feed.

References
Dr. Paoni’s articles: https://www.illinoistimes.com/special-issues/not-all-screen-time-is-created-equally-17310116

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/video-game-health/202312/preparing-for-the-conversation-about-screen-time-rules

How to change settings to protect child users: https://www.protectyoungeyes.com/

“Wait Until 8th” org: https://www.waituntil8th.org/

“Addiction” metaphor: https://www.kvoa.com/townnews/hydrography/biology-teacher-calls-it-quits-due-to-student-phone-addiction/article_4a50dce4-1719-11ef-88cf-5739cf2f4a5b.html

Relationship to mental illness: https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2024/06/17/social-media-mental-health-research-surgeon-general/

Age verification on social media: https://www.pcmag.com/news/experts-heres-why-age-verification-rules-for-social-media-wont-work

Published in: Half the Answer, Podcast

Authors

Caitlin Green is a linguist specializing in Discourse Studies and Pragmatics. She lives in California with her husband, two daughters, and a very small black cat.

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Trent R. Nelson is a poet, historian, and philosopher, as well as a political and socioeconomic analyst. He is the managing editor for MWF Springfield and a contributing editor with Liberal Currents.

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Dr. Melissa Fisher Paoni is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist and Certified School Psychologist in Springfield, Illinois. Her main focus is psychological evaluations of children and adolescents.

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