Joan Ganz Cooney Center: Into the Digital Future: Recent Episodes
Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop: Into the Digital Future
Join hosts Jordan Shapiro (Cooney Center Senior Fellow) and Laura Higgins (Director of Community Safety & Digital Civility at Roblox) as they talk to experts about the opportunities and challenges facing kids in the digital world. Acknowledging that parents are overwhelmed by frightening headlines about screen time and online predators, Jordan and Laura guide listeners through a series of casual, fun, yet thought-provoking conversations around topics like youth trends during the pandemic, combating toxic behaviors, and what tech and gaming companies are trying to do to create healthy spaces.
Lucha Sotomayor, distinguished child participation expert and digital rights advocate, joins Laura and Jordan for an impactful conversation on enhancing child safety online. Lucha brings her experiences from her significant role in the United Nations Protection through Online Participation (POP) project, an initiative aimed at utilizing the Internet as a tool for child protection and empowerment. She discusses the intricacies of the project and how it's changing the way we understand children's online experiences. Together, they delve into the current dynamics of online youth participation and the proactive measures being implemented through POP to promote their safety and rights.
Jaspal Sandhu, Executive Vice President at Hopelab, discusses the organization's impactful work in youth mental health and well-being. With a strong focus on equity for LGBTQ+ youth and youth of color, Jaspal delves into the positive possibilities of technology and the importance of involving young people as active partners in shaping solutions within the responsible technology movement.
Our guest for this episode of Into the Digital Future is Dr. Melissa C. Mercado, a lead researcher at the CDC who is working to address the challenges of digital harassment and online safety. With Laura and Jordan, Dr. Mercado delves into the world of online bullying, cyberbullying, and their impact on well-being. Melissa highlights the real-life consequences of online violence and emphasizes leveraging online spaces for positive connections and skill-building.
Laura and Jordan are joined by Amanda Third, Associate Professor at the University of Western Sydney and co-author of the UN's Digital Rights of the Child. Amanda shares her participatory research approach that empowers children as active contributors to data on their digital experiences. As part of the Global Kids Online initiative, she highlights the digital challenges kids face and calls for adult support and effective policies. Tune in to understand how we can create a future where children can imaginatively harness digital technology.
Trisha Prabhu, renowned innovator and anti-cyberbullying advocate, joins Laura and Jordan for a powerful discussion on combating digital harassment. Trisha shares insights from her journey as the creator of ReThink, a technology solution designed to detect and deter offensive language before it's posted online. Together, they explore the current landscape of online bullying and the proactive steps being taken by her company and the tech industry to combat them.
Jennie Ito, a seasoned developmental psychologist and expert in children's media and content appropriateness, joins Laura and Jordan in a compelling conversation on creating safer digital environments for kids. Drawing from her vast experience, which includes spearheading content policy development for kids' experiences on YouTube, Google Play, and her current role at Roblox, Jennie provides a deep dive into the intricacies of age-appropriate digital policy-making. Together, they explore the critical challenges and innovative solutions to ensuring child safety in digital platforms.
Join Laura and Jordan as they delve into the critical world of online safety with Julie Inman Grant, Australia's esteemed eSafety Commissioner. With her wealth of experience from tech giants like Microsoft, Twitter, and Adobe, Julie brings a unique perspective on internet safety measures and regulations. Learn about her journey leading the eSafety Commission since 2017 and the transformative strides they've made under the newly created global online safety regulators network. Together, they discuss the current state of online harm and the proactive strategies being implemented by the commission to safeguard Australians in the digital realm (and a couple of fun stories about Bill Gates).
Dr. Hina Talib, a pediatrician and adolescent medicine specialist, joins Laura and Jordan for an enlightening discussion on raising teenagers in the digital age. They delve into the impact of technology on youth well-being, emphasizing the need for open conversations and listening. Dr. Talib highlights the importance of understanding individual experiences and fostering positive online communities. The conversation touches on age verification, content moderation, and the often-overlooked topics of sleep and movement. With valuable insights and practical advice, the discussion provides a thoughtful guide navigating the complexities of parenting teens in the digital world.
Daniel Kelley is the associate director for the Center of Technology and Society at the Anti-Defamation League. Daniel joins Laura and Jordan to discuss how online hate manifests in online spaces, particularly in the online games world, and how positive steps are being taken by civil society and technology companies to combat these issues.
Amanda LaTasha Armstrong joins Jordan and Laura to discuss issues around race and representation in games and online platforms. They discuss thinking about who's represented in media—from television to games. They discuss the power dynamics and social issues that children experience within real-world environments, and how technology and media can perpetuate these issues.
Kimberly Voll is a game developer, researcher, and co-founder of the Fair Play Alliance. In this episode, Kimberly joins Laura and Jordan to talk about her earliest experiences with video games, her interest in artificial intelligence, understanding games as social ecosystems, and the challenges of combating toxicity in digital spaces.
Teens & tweens have complex interests, questions, and opinions, their own devices & fewer options in educational media than younger children. Michael Preston discusses the “missing middle” audience, approaches to playful learning, and redefining digital wellbeing on the #intothedigitalfuture podcast
Alicia Blum Ross is a Public Policy Lead for Kids and Families at Google and the co-author of Parenting for a Digital Future: How Hopes and Fears about Technology Shape Children's Lives. In this episode, Laura and Jordan welcome Alicia to discuss how parenting has changed in response to technology, balancing the benefits for children against the risks, and the importance of digital literacy.
“Pursue yourself!” Roblox developer Quazar shares his story of self-expression and identity through digital media on the #intothedigtialfuture podcast. For anyone who has ever felt different, outside, or even bullied, online spaces for community and creativity can be healthy and supportive outlets. Hear how Quazar’s Vision Park, a quirky 1980s-themed, neon theme park has become a safe digital place for players to escape to and find community.
During the pandemic, parents found creative ways to make family time special, with movie nights, multigenerational Tiktok dances, and even hanging out in Roblox with their kids. “Families are really doing their best to make this time as special as they can manage to make it,” says David Kleeman, Senior Vice President of Global Trends at Dubit. Tune in to hear more about what experts are seeing this year as we all navigate a reality where “down on the corner is up on the server.”
What are Child Rights in our digital world? Sonia Livingstone is working to ensure a balanced approach to design and policy to allow kids to make the most of opportunities afforded by technology while protecting them. Balance might mean weighing the risks of being online with opportunities for learning, or finding approaches to parenting that let the family strike a balance with digital spaces and face-to-face experiences.
Parenting in a pandemic has forced kids to rely on technology more than ever before, yet as we work through this challenging time, Dr. Jenny Radesky hopes for a silver lining where parents can use the time together to better understand their kids' relationships to technology. Join Jordan Shapiro (Senior Fellow, Joan Ganz Cooney Center) and Laura Higgins (Director of Community Safety & Digital Civility, Roblox) as they discuss parenting, digital wellbeing, and the possibilities of child-centered design to improve health and learning with Dr. Radesky.