After a long work week, I eagerly anticipate an enthusiastic greeting from my children upon my arrival home. Instead I discover one child deeply engrossed in a game of Wii, another reaching for my iPhone, and my 15-year-old in her room, laptop open to Facebook, texting a friend on her...
(2) Comments | Posted May 9, 2012 | 5:19 PM
Kids today are flocking online, using tablets and smart phones, and downloading apps. More than 5 million kids under the age of 13 have joined Facebook, tens of millions more teenagers use the site for hours every day. By the time my daughter is 18 she will have...
(2) Comments | Posted March 30, 2012 | 6:39 PM
When the controversial documentary Bully opens in theaters in New York and Los Angeles today, it will indeed include a rating, just not the traditional MPAA rating that most moviegoers are familiar with. Instead, the posters, advertisements, and other promotional materials will include a new rating: the 13+...
(0) Comments | Posted May 30, 2011 | 9:03 PM
Children today are growing up in the midst of a technological revolution that is changing the very nature of childhood. Our kids can be connected 24/7 to everyone and everything, whether it's through the computer in their homes or the mobile devices in their pockets. This immersion in media and...
(0) Comments | Posted May 11, 2011 | 10:27 PM
Representatives Ed Markey (D-MA) and Joe Barton (R-TX) took a major step to protect the privacy of kids online by introducing "Do Not Track Kids" legislation.
The Congressmen should be commended for listening to the concerns of families and for taking action by drafting a bill that...
(2) Comments | Posted October 15, 2010 | 12:30 PM
America is a nation of innovators. We dream and we create. And inevitably the world changes -- mostly for the good. We want to encourage economic growth, but too often, our children become the collateral damage in the rush to profit. Today, at a time of bewildering technological change, it's...
(4) Comments | Posted May 7, 2010 | 12:01 PM
This morning, a front page article in the New York Times highlighted the stunning ways in which kids are using formspring.me, a new social networking site that allows users to ask and post anonymous questions and comments about any individual. The point of the network is to be...
(2) Comments | Posted April 20, 2010 | 1:02 PM
Last Thursday, I logged on to the Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times and saw two related stories. In the Washington Post, education reporter Valerie Strauss reported that Montgomery County police were investigating a sexting scandal that was brought to their attention by a school principal who...
(0) Comments | Posted March 23, 2010 | 5:25 PM
Nearly 50 years ago John F. Kennedy spoke to students about the enormous challenges and opportunities that lay ahead in the decade after the 1960s, and he urged them to take action and get involved. A year later, President Kennedy signed an Executive Order creating the Peace Corps. Today, nearly...
(2) Comments | Posted May 28, 2007 | 10:11 AM
Parents probably don't need any reminding, but summer is practically here -- and with it will come hours of free time for kids.
In a world where kids already spend an average of 45 hours per week with the media -- more than twice as much time as they spend...
(0) Comments | Posted February 6, 2007 | 11:29 AM
"At the end of the day, it's about building a constructive conversation and not just a one-time discussion." These were my opening remarks last night as we convened the Beyond Primetime conference being co-hosted by Common Sense Media and the Aspen Institute at the Time Warner Center in New York....
(12) Comments | Posted February 5, 2007 | 3:04 PM
Media beats out school problems, alcohol and smoking.
Kids now spend more time in the electronic media world today than they're spending at school or with their parents. So who's really influencing their physical, social, and emotional development?
In a new national survey conducted here at Common Sense Media last...
(2) Comments | Posted June 9, 2006 | 7:26 PM
When it comes to kids and their media, parents feel completely conflicted.
Parents say they worry about what's on TV, yet 2/3 of their kids have sets in their rooms. Parents worry about age-inappropriate content, yet almost no one uses the V-Chip and few use content filters.
This polarity now...

(19) Comments | Posted May 25, 2012 | 10:50 AM