Two recent online claims sparked this article: one equating smartphone use with heroin addiction, another citing a non-existent “University of Vermont dopamine study.” Both fuel moral panic through false equivalency. Using neuroscience and fact-checking, The White Hatter explains why phone use triggers mild dopamine activity, not drug-level brain changes, and urges parents to separate facts from fear.

Fake news site mimicking CBC used Howie Mandel clickbait to promote a scam—always check URLs, verify stories, and teach kids to think critically online.

Claims that tech is turning kids into a “different species” are fear-based, not fact-based—digital literacy, not panic, is the key to healthy tech use.

If an article cites a study without linking or naming it, be skeptical—parents must verify claims to avoid fear-based decisions and model digital literacy.