TikTok is rolling out new messaging features like voice notes and photo sharing, while also updating its Family Pairing parental controls. These changes bring TikTok closer to apps like Instagram and WhatsApp, but they also raise new questions for families. Here’s what parents need to know about the updates, the safeguards in place, and how to set up Family Pairing effectively.

Fewer than half of parents use built-in parental controls, yet these tools help reduce online risks. Meta’s new Teen Accounts on Instagram, Facebook, and Messenger add protections like private profiles, restricted messaging, nudity blurring, and parental oversight. Helpful but not foolproof, - active, informed parenting remains the strongest safeguard.

Nova Scotia’s proposed ban on social media for anyone under 16 is being framed as protection, but the reality is more political than practical. Fear-driven messaging without credible evidence risks doing more harm than good. Parents, not politicians, are best placed to decide when their child is ready.

Predators have always adapted to new technologies, but AI is rewriting the rules. What once took months of grooming can now happen faster, at scale, and with a level of deception that looks, and even sounds, real. Parents need to understand how AI is changing online risks and what this means for keeping kids safe.

Not long ago, youth and teens searched the internet by typing words into Google and sorting through links. Today, they’re simply asking AI for answers. This shift from searching to prompting may seem small, but it has big implications for how young people think, learn, and stay safe online, making digital literacy more important than ever

AI is becoming part of kids’ lives earlier than ever, but most platforms weren’t built with them in mind. A new wave of intentionally designed tools like Kinzoo + Kai for safe messaging, AngelQ for safer browsing, and Khanmigo for guided tutoring—put safety, creativity, and learning first. These platforms give kids a safer way to explore AI while keeping parents informed and involved.

Teens are learning how to bend AI guardrails with creative prompts, raising tough questions for parents and educators. The issue isn’t just what ChatGPT might say, but why a teen is asking in the first place. This article explores how prompts reveal deeper needs and how adults can respond with guidance, not fear.

Artificial Intelligence has quickly moved from being a futuristic concept to a daily reality for today’s youth and teens. It shapes how youth and teens will learn, connect, and create. The challenge for parents and educators isn’t whether young people will use AI, but whether they’ll be equipped to use it thoughtfully, safely, and responsibly. That’s why we developed a new program for the 2025/2026 school year - “I.N.S.P.I.R.E. AI”.

This article challenges the “delay is the way” message about youth and tech. While concerns about brain development and online risks are valid, blanket bans leave teens unprepared. A better approach is guided, age-appropriate exposure, open conversations, healthy modelling, and gradual skill-building to foster resilience and digital maturity.

A growing number of teens are being pulled into TikTok’s “BOP girl” culture, where hyper-sexualized self-presentation is sold as empowerment and fast money. What makes this trend especially dangerous isn’t just the algorithms pushing it—it’s the fact that recruitment often happens peer-to-peer. Friends, classmates, and near-age influencers frame it as normal, desirable, and profitable, making it harder for teens to recognize the risks until they’re already in too deep.

AI is transforming life faster than any shift since the internet, and possibly the Industrial Revolution. For kids to thrive, they need AI literacy, ethical awareness, and critical thinking. Parents, caregivers, and educators must learn alongside them to guide safe, responsible, and future-ready use.

Your teen’s next favorite “social” app might not involve any real people at all. Character.AI’s new feed swaps human influencers for AI-generated personalities, charming, witty, and available 24/7, but also capable of blurring the line between reality and simulation in ways that raise serious questions about safety, privacy, and emotional well-being.

Instagram's new Map feature lets users share their real-time location, see nearby friends, and discover posts based on geography. While it's off by default, parents should know how it works, talk to their teens about privacy settings, and set clear boundaries around location sharing and safety.

Big Tech platforms often ignore online child exploitation while facing little accountability, something no other industry would get away with. This article urges parents, lawmakers, and companies to step up, share responsibility, and push for real legislative action that prioritizes youth safety online but also protects everyones privacy

A data-driven comparison of today’s teens and those from the 1970s–1990s challenges nostalgia. While modern youth face mental health concerns, they’re less likely to drop out, get pregnant, use drugs, or die in car crashes. Today’s risks are different, not worse. Facts over fear.

Tech Smart Parenting” by Catherine Knibbs is the best book we’ve read in a long time on youth, digital literacy, and online safety. Backed by research and real-world experience, it offers clear, practical guidance and a refreshingly balanced approach for any parent or caregiver raising kids in a digital world.

Despite headlines that focus on doom and addiction, many youth are using technology to lead, create, and make change. From activism to innovation, today’s teens are thriving online with empathy and purpose. It’s time we tell the whole story, not just the risks, but the remarkable opportunities too.

AI is changing how youth learn, connect, and grow, but with few rules and little oversight. This article urges parents, caregivers, and educators to step in. It highlights the risks of unregulated AI, the loss of healthy friction, and the need for thoughtful guidance and stronger regulation.

The “Delay is the Way” movement says holding off on tech is the safest path for kids, but this article challenges that view. Instead of fear-based slogans, it calls for evidence-based parenting, digital literacy, and corporate accountability to prepare youth for real-world tech use.

Many teens are leaving public social media for private chats like Discord and iMessage, tired of AI-generated “slop” flooding their feeds. They want real connection, not content. This shift offers more control and authenticity but also raises new privacy and safety concerns for parents.