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New Canadian research involving nearly 40,000 Ontario students found that about one in five reported turning to generative AI for emotional support or advice, with these students also more likely to experience emotional difficulties. But does AI contribute to those struggles, or are struggling youth more likely to seek out AI? The research can’t answer that yet. What it does tell parents is important, don’t just ask if your child uses AI. Ask what role AI plays in their life.

September is Suicide Awareness Month. For parents and caregivers, awareness shouldn’t mean fear, it should mean connection, conversation, and paying attention. Canadian research shows youth suicide is complex, rarely has a single cause, and warning signs aren’t always obvious. Our latest article looks beyond alarming headlines to what the evidence tells us, why asking about suicide doesn’t cause it, and why the relationship we build with our kids may matter most.

AI generated nostalgia is flooding social media with a familiar message, childhood was better before smartphones, and technology ruined what came after. But does a quieter street really prove that? Our latest article looks beyond the emotional pull of nostalgia to examine demographics, parenting, independent mobility, screen use, and the bigger digital literacy question, "are we looking at today’s childhood, or searching for the one we remember?"

Sexual “choking” is increasingly appearing in pornography, social media, music, and popular culture, but what is often portrayed as exciting or harmless is actually strangulation, and it carries potentially serious medical risks. With research suggesting some young people are encountering this behaviour by their mid-teens, this is an uncomfortable but important conversation parents and caregivers need to have with both sons and daughters.

When parents picture a sexual predator, many now imagine an unknown adult hiding behind a screen. Online predation is real and deserves our attention. But Canadian data reveals another uncomfortable reality, when a child is sexually harmed, the person responsible is far more likely to be someone they already know. Protecting kids means looking beyond strangers and teaching that boundaries matter with everyone, including those they love, respect, and trust.

Why don’t we include a TL;DR with our longer articles? Yes, we recognize the irony of writing a lengthy article to explain why! But there’s a reason. In an online world built around scrolling, snippets, sound bites, and AI summaries, context and nuance can easily disappear. Some topics simply deserve more than three sentences. Sometimes understanding the “why” means taking the time to read beyond the “what.” Here’s why we believe the longer version is sometimes worth it.

If kids are too young to gamble, why are we surrounding them with the culture of gambling? Sports betting ads, odds, sponsorships, promotions, and betting language are now woven into the sports young people love. The concern isn’t just whether youth can legally place a bet. It’s what years of exposure may teach them about gambling before they ever can. We take a deeper look at the normalization of sports betting and why parents should be paying attention.

AI in schools is no longer just about what a chatbot can generate. As AI evolves from answering prompts to accessing information, connecting with systems, and taking action, the questions schools need to ask are changing. What can AI see? What permissions does it have? What can it do on our behalf? Heading into 2026/27, AI literacy must include privacy, security, human oversight, permission literacy, and responsible AI agency.

$17.1 billion sounds like a corporate reckoning, but for a company the size of Meta, context matters. Is this settlement a meaningful step toward cumulative accountability, or simply another manageable cost of doing business? We examine the numbers, the “eat the elephant one bite at a time” argument, and why the bigger concern may be whether Big Tech is evolving faster than courts and regulators can keep up.

Something interesting is happening in the online lives of some youth and teens. They aren’t simply moving from one app to another, they’re changing how and where meaningful connection happens. As public feeds become noisier, more algorithmic, commercialized, and filled with AI-generated content, smaller trusted communities are becoming more attractive. Could the rise of artificial intelligence actually make authentic human connection more valuable?

The online world rarely unfolds according to plan. Technology changes, youth adapt, new risks emerge, and research can struggle to keep pace. Drawing on lessons learned from 30 years of policing, we explore why digital safety requires more than rules, bans, parental controls, or rigid plans. Preparation matters, but so does knowing when to adapt, reassess risk, change course, and give young people the skills to do the same when the plan meets reality.

Smart glasses can provide life changing accessibility for people who are blind or have low vision, but those benefits should never shield technology companies from legitimate scrutiny. Accessibility and privacy do not have to compete. As AI enabled wearables become more common, we need policies that accommodate disability-related needs, protect privacy and consent, establish reasonable boundaries, and hold companies accountable for how their technology is designed.

Smart glasses and AI-enabled wearables are entering schools faster than many policies can keep up. Cameras, microphones, AI, and cloud processing can now be hidden inside everyday eyewear and accessories, creating new questions around privacy, consent, accessibility, safety, and misuse. We created this free, adaptable draft policy to help schools establish clear, balanced expectations before an incident forces them to react.

Smart glasses present schools with a complicated challenge. The same camera-equipped eyewear that raises legitimate concerns about privacy, consent, recording, and academic integrity may also help a visually impaired student read a worksheet, identify an object, or understand their surroundings. As schools develop smart glasses policies, we need to distinguish between misuse and meaningful accessibility, because sometimes the risk is also the accommodation.

As AI becomes more conversational, personalized, and human-like, youth may know they’re talking to technology while still feeling like someone is listening, understanding, or even caring. That difference matters. AI can create real feelings without having feelings of its own. We call this the Anthropomorphism Gap, and understanding why AI can feel like “someone” rather than “something” should become an important part of AI literacy.

Smart glasses are no longer a $400 luxury. We bought a pair of M02 Smart AI Glasses for under $80 Canadian and were surprised by what they could do, especially the quality of the camera and video. As wearable cameras become cheaper, discreet recording becomes accessible to almost anyone. For parents and caregivers, the conversation now needs to move beyond Meta and toward privacy, consent, and what happens when the camera becomes almost invisible and financially accessible.

The debate over AI in schools is often framed as a simple choice: allow it or restrict it. We believe that misses the bigger question. Not all uses of AI carry the same risks or consequences. Rather than focusing solely on whether AI is being used, schools and families should be asking when, why, and how it is being used, what student data is involved, and whether its educational value justifies its risks.

We tell parents to seek help early when their child’s mental health begins to change. Yet too often, meaningful help becomes easier to access only after that child reaches a crisis. When distress turns into self-harm, violence, suicidal thinking, or a 911 call, urgency suddenly appears. We need to ask a difficult question: why are we investing so much in responding to youth mental health crises, while making it so difficult for families to prevent them?

For years, we’ve taught young people to think about their digital footprint, what technology can remember about them. AI adds a new dimension: their AI imprint, what technology can potentially learn from them. Their photos, words, voices, prompts, clicks, and behaviours may do more than leave a trail, they can help shape the technologies around them. In the age of AI, “think before you post” is no longer enough. We also need to teach, “think before you prompt.”

Remember Myspace? The customized profiles, music, and infamous “Top 8” may feel like internet nostalgia, but its possible return comes at an interesting time. As some youth grow tired of algorithm-driven feeds, AI slop, influencers, and endless content from strangers, they appear to be rediscovering something social media has slowly lost: smaller, intentional spaces centred around real people and real connections. Maybe what’s old really can become new again.