Thank you to @davidsonofaaron.bsky.social for hosting a thoughtful discussion about social media ban proposals in the UK. It was a pleasure to contribute to this: www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...

Unexpected joy this evening:

About 18 months ago I sent this letter, along with a copy of my book, to a number of MPs and peers, including Wes Streeting. I never got a response (which to be fair was my baseline expectation), but it’s still disheartening to see today’s news about Haidt’s invitation to speak to policymakers.

Works the other way around too. “If I was Jonathan Haidt, how would I destroy the next generation?”

The man who inspired Australia's teen social media ban literally did this:

Unauthorised student turned up to today’s research methods class, I guess they wanted to brush up on their meow-tiple regression skills?

Two exciting ERC-funded PhD positions on attention and technology use with @matti.vuorre.com I’ll be an (external) part of the supervision team and can highly recommend this department @tilburg-university.bsky.social tiu.nu/22989

“It’s really difficult to craft a story that explains the complexity of the research literature, but still gives people something to take away with them to do. And that’s what parents are craving' @peteetchells.bsky.social @jonsevers.bsky.social @tesmagazine.bsky.social www.tes.com/magazine/tea...

So it turns out I'm on the editorial board for a scam journal (news to me!). "Istoriya" is a SCOPUS-indexed journal apparently, but it's not this one: istoriya.ac. Two journals with the same name and ISSN, but different editorial boards - one entirely fabricated but using real academics.

@taylorlorenz.bsky.social hi Taylor, where’s the best place to send a message or email? I have a book coming out in the US next week and I was wondering if you’d be interested in a copy.

Episode 8 of Screen Sense is now available wherever you get your podcasts. We’re taking a break for a while, & we thought it would be fun to finish off with a listener Q&A. In this last episode (for now), we cover Qs around VR, online safety & more: screensensepodcast.substack.com/p/episode-8-...

Have seen a few mentions on here lately about the 1980s ninja panic in the UK, so am reposting my piece about how this led to the BBC broadcasting the Teenage Mutant HERO Turtles in 1990 tribunemag.co.uk/2021/04/when...

When it comes to screens, everyone seems to have an opinion - but how much of what we hear is actually true? Episode 7 of Screen Sense is out now, and we take on some of the most common myths and misconceptions around screen time: screensensepodcast.substack.com/p/episode-7-...

Ozzy going out after raising $190 million for sick kids and a Parkinson’s cure is metal AF.

And one final thought: Ozzy going out after giving an emotional final performance that raised a ton of money for charity is more spiritually uplifting and did more genuine good than anything any televangelist and religious grifter who railed against him ever did combined.

do you ever stare at the ceiling and think about how the worldwide scientific establishment did the impossible and created a COVID vaccine in under a year and the response of the general public has been to go on an unstoppable rampage to destroy science and scientists

How do we ask better research questions about tech & mental health? In Ep 5 of Screen Sense, @shuhbillskee.bsky.social & I dig into why the research is messy, what better studies look like & how the public debate makes it harder to get clear answers. screensensepodcast.substack.com/p/episode-5-...

More Than Robots July edition is available now A stroll around the youth/digital/equity Venn Ft @ofcom.bsky.social @shuhbillskee.bsky.social @peteetchells.bsky.social @renatesamson.bsky.social @pshe-association.bsky.social @cfyounglives.bsky.social and more www.morethanrobots.org.uk/more-than-ro...

Episode 4 of Screen Sense is out now! This week, we explore why our public conversations about tech often get stuck in fear, and how we might move toward more helpful ways of thinking and talking about screens, wellbeing and family life: screensensepodcast.substack.com/p/episode-4-...

Episode 4 of Screen Sense is coming tomorrow morning. In the meantime, here's a last promo for our latest episode, on the myth of the digital native: podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/e...

It's 2025 and the fairy tales that brought us the money priming train wreck are apparently alive and well. "Just seeing your phone—even face down—can lower test scores". 🤔

Episode 3 of Screen Sense is now live! In this week's episode, we talk about the myth of the digital native, and why pay-to-earn games models can get in the bin. Apple Podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/e... Spotify: open.spotify.com/episode/0xU9... Substack: open.substack.com/pub/screense...

Episode 3 of Screen Sense is now live! In this week's episode, we talk about the myth of the digital native, and why pay-to-earn games models can get in the bin. Apple Podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/e... Spotify: open.spotify.com/episode/0xU9... Substack: open.substack.com/pub/screense...

How do we have better tech conversations with our kids? Episode 2 of Screen Sense available now! Apple: podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/s... Spotify: open.spotify.com/episode/1yiz... Substack: screensensepodcast.substack.com/p/episode-2-...

As expected, this is great. I think what will stick with me most from the first ep is: having the resources (time, academic training to read the scientific literature, money to access it!) to make an informed decision about these things is a privilege. Thank goodness for people like Andy and Pete!

Episode 1 of our new podcast Screen Sense: Parenting in a Digital World made it into the top 50 science podcasts on Apple over the weekend. You can listen here: podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/s...

Screen Sense: Parenting in a Digital World, the new podcast from @shuhbillskee.bsky.social and I - first episode is now live. We hope you enjoy it. open.substack.com/pub/screense...

Please share. The coroner is asking for help tracking down next of kin for five Ian Paterson patients whose inquests are ongoing: www.bbc.com/news/article...

Screen Sense: Parenting in a Digital World, the new podcast from @shuhbillskee.bsky.social and I - first episode is now live. We hope you enjoy it. open.substack.com/pub/screense...

I’ve been a huge fan of Sea Hero Quest since the start (and you’ll know all about it if you read my first book). This new iteration sounds *amazing*. Science and gaming in the best of ways.

📣 I’m thrilled to be speaking at the FOSI European Forum in Amsterdam on Wednesday. I'll be joining a stellar line-up of speakers for a chat about both the latest research and the philosophical approaches to online safety. #FOSIAmsterdam2025

Humanist friends! Rodney is a remarkable young man trying to help run a school in Uganda. I’ve been trying to help him. He needs £200 to register the school and I am selling a watch of mine to raise this money. If any of you buy it, I’ll give you a signed copy of my new book BEFORE it is published!

I am ridiculously excited for this book, it looks beautiful (and I’m sure will read beautifully, too).

🎙️Screen Sense - new podcast with me and @shuhbillskee.bsky.social, is launching next week! Two psychologists (and dads) talking honestly about what it means to raise a family in a screen-filled world - with science, real stories and zero guilt. Launching 13th June. screensensepodcast.substack.com

🎙️Screen Sense - new podcast with me and @shuhbillskee.bsky.social, is launching next week! Two psychologists (and dads) talking honestly about what it means to raise a family in a screen-filled world - with science, real stories and zero guilt. Launching 13th June. screensensepodcast.substack.com

I’m really excited to say that I’ve been recruited to the DCMS College of Experts, joining 58 external experts from across academia and industry: www.gov.uk/government/g...

Harvard university’s top governing board, the Harvard Corporation, decided this month to revoke Francesca Gino’s tenure and end her employment at Harvard Business School www.wgbh.org/news/educati...

Never take seriously those who ridicule low income people for having a smartphone or laptop. “If they’re so poor how did they buy an iPhone???” Because they’re trying to escape poverty, not the 1700s, genius. If you think basic tech access is unnecessary or a luxury, survive a month without it.

“I think we desperately need to take some of the heat out of this debate,” @peteetchells.bsky.social says. “And this paper, for me, doesn’t do that. It has the potential to go the other way.” www.science.org/content/arti...

This is absolutely incredible. Makes you think about how fleeting this all is.

It's been a disappointing week. www.science.org/content/arti...

Almost 15 years of replication crisis in psychology we get this high profile paper on social media and mental health research... Like Bem and PSI, studying of how this paper - and its popular framing - saw the light of day, will teach us a lot about how psychologists evaluate evidence quality.

Are smartphones and social media harmful to teenagers? The evidence is mixed, but a group of researchers have published a paper attempting to reach a consensus view. The trouble is, a bunch of other researchers disagree with their consensus www.newscientist.com/article/2480...

Would you like to write for New Scientist? We always work with freelancers, but occasionally I put out a call like this for new writers. I'm looking for 300-700 word news stories about new discoveries. Don't pitch us press releases or the big journals, we have those covered. Pay starts at 51p/word

Unlocked is still 99p on Kindle at the moment: www.amazon.co.uk/Unlocked-Sci...

Really interesting & useful chat on teens & screens from @lucyfoulkes.bsky.social and Pete Etchells, esp if yr reading The Anxious Generation. I think reading Twitter for ages had made me forget nuance was possible. youtu.be/CDklRSfl8og?...

While the 'belief' plot draws attention, the core message of the final, deliberative consensus statements is that evidence linking smartphone and social media use to negative outcomes is limited, mixed, context-dependent, insufficient to support causal claims, and better research is needed.

Looking forward to checking this out! Thanks @peteetchells.bsky.social ☺️ Of course I’ll photograph every page so I can read it off my phone for the full screen time experience

FOSI’s 2025 European Forum is coming up on June 11 in Amsterdam 🇳🇱, and we’re excited to share something with our early attendees… 📘 The first 100 registrants will receive a signed copy of Pete Etchells’ latest book, Unlocked. ✅ Register now to get your free copy! www.eventbrite.com/e/2025-europ...