tech health

At START, we often talk about how this generation of parents is breaking new ground. Smartphones have changed our social and cultural landscape, and they’ve given rise to unprecedented challenges for parents as they discern how to introduce them to their kids. 

For START co-founder Krista Boan, these aren’t abstract questions. From the beginning, she knew smartphones were in her kids’ future, and 2021 was the year she took the leap with her oldest daughter.

On this episode of the podcast, the tables are turned; she’s on the other side of the interview table and her friend Adam Reck is interviewing her. Adam has years of experience working with kids as a mentor and a student minister at Krista’s church. He’s also seen countless families make this transition. In this conversation, they compare notes and share wisdom as Krista discusses the steps her family took to introduce a new smartphone, the roles apps and filters can use, and the importance of wisdom, communication, and connection with your kids. 

Screen Sanity is Executive Produced by Krista Boan and START.

It is produced and edited by Mike Cosper for Cosper Productions.

Max Stossel is an award-winning poet, filmmaker, and speaker. He is also the Head of Education & Content for the Center for Humane Technology, an organization of former tech insiders and CEOs dedicated to realigning technology with humanity’s best interests. If the Center is unfamiliar to you, one of their products probably is not – the Netflix documentary The Social Dilemma, an exploration of the hazards of online life for the flourishing and well-being of our kids. 

Max’s work has brought him to the front lines of public discourse about the impact of screens on our culture, and on the many ways tech companies are profiting off of our attention at the expense of our own well-being. 

On this episode of the podcast, Max joins START co-founder Krista Boan to talk about how he began this work, the ways we need to reframe how we think about our tech vocabulary words like “attention” and “algorithm,” and how online engagement drives people to extremism. 

Screen Sanity is Executive Produced by Krista Boan and START.

It is produced and edited by Mike Cosper for Cosper Productions.

Few thoughts are as daunting to parents as the potential impact, damage, and prevalence of pornography in the lives of modern kids. While we’d like to think it mostly lives in hard-to-reach corners of the internet, the reality is that it’s only a few clicks away. But rather than let that fact frighten us away from the topic, we want to encourage parents to approach it straight-on, and our guests on this episode of Screen Sanity have done excellent work in helping us consider how to do so. 

Rob and Zareen Cope are parents from New Zealand and the producers of the documentary “Our Kids Online: Porn, Predators, and How to Keep Them Safe.” They join START co-founder Krista Boan to talk about the origins of the documentary, the harm that porn is causing a generation, and practical ideas for protecting and educating our kids.

Screen Sanity is Executive Produced by Krista Boan and START.

It is produced and edited by Mike Cosper for Cosper Productions.