Built-in teen trackers: Screen Time for iPhone and Google Family Link for Android let you monitor your teens on social media, set usage limits and block apps you don’t want them using. My advice: Don’t be sneaky about it. They’ll find out you’ve set limits, so you might as well have a convo about it upfront.
💪 Swole is the goal: Young men are flooding social media with the perks of testosterone replacement therapy, aka steroids. Are better endurance, bigger muscles, less fat and more dates too good to be true? Yes. Side effects include hair loss, acne, blood clots and, yup, things not working downstairs. Still, prescriptions are up 20% in the last three years.
97 years old
Isn’t too old for cheerleading! Ilagene Doehring got a blast from the past when Michigan’s Merrill High cheer team surprised her at her nursing home. Over 80 years after her stint as a high school cheerleader, she joined the squad for a performance. You have to see the video! What did the cheerleader drink before the big game? A root beer!
If your teen says this phrase, pay close attention: “Crashing out” means they’re about to flip out or overreact to something minor. The causes behind it are bigger, of course — think anything from hormones and relationships to academic stress or social media drama.
🎓 Chasing clout: Teenagers are choosing colleges based on how good they’ll look on social media. Morgan, for example, wants a pretty campus and plenty of football games to turn into posts, reels and shorts. Successful influencers pull in an average of $130,000 a year, but just remember: Actually making money is more than a longshot.
I couldn’t imagine: An 18-year-old driving a 2022 Honda Pilot got stuck on autopilot going 113 mph with his mom following him in another car. He tried everything to slow or stop the car, including putting it in neutral, braking and even pulling the emergency brake. Nothing worked. The solution? A responding police officer had the teen hit the back of his patrol car so the vehicle would stop. Fortunately, nobody was hurt.
✅ Instagram for teens: Congress is laying on the pressure and Meta is finally making changes. “Teen accounts” for anyone under 18 will block non-friends from viewing their content or messaging them. Parents can also see who their kids have recently messaged, set daily time limits and block app usage during certain hours. Full list of changes here. Share this one with anyone with a teen.
🚨 All that and dim sum: Researchers dug into Communist China-owned TikTok’s algorithms and found they suppress content critical of the Chinese Communist Party. Search for “Xinjiang,” a region linked with genocide and crimes against humanity, and you’ll find only 2.3% of results are anti-China. Compare that to 21.7% on YouTube. And the cherry on top? They’re not above manipulating teens with pro-China propaganda.
Over 2 million American teens vape: “This is Quitting” is a free texting program that offers clinically proven advice from experts and other young people who’ve quit. It’s effective, too — 35% of kids who enrolled were more likely to give up the habit after seven months. Pass it on: Text DITCHVAPE to 88709.
Going green: There’s a new code word for smoking marijuana: “Gardening.” Teens use the term to get past content filters on TikTok and other sites. Now you know.
Another stupid viral video trend: A Maine man fired 14 rounds from a handgun at teens who ding-dong-ditched his house at 1 a.m., clipping one kid in the leg. Luckily, the teen is OK, but the homeowner faces multiple charges of assault and reckless conduct with a firearm. Tell your kids not to prank homes for video views.
👨👩👧👦 95% of teens have a smartphone: Smartphone Free Childhood is an organization that offers support for parents who don’t want to cave to the social pressure. They’ve set up local WhatsApp groups to “empower each other.” Here’s another option: Teach your kiddo to use their smartphone responsibly.
Talk to the kids: Influencers and athletes are pushing highly addictive nicotine pouches on social media. They’re marketed to teens as flavored little bags in colorful containers. Brands include Velo, On! and Zyn.
A grieving mom forced off social media: A judge said “to protect minors,” the posts about her 13-year-old daughter’s suicide must be removed. Internet sleuths located the four teens accused of bullying the girl offline and online, and now their families are receiving threats. This happened in a Mississippi town of 20,000 people, but it’s getting national attention.
53% of kids under 12
Remember ads they’ve seen on YouTube better than ads watched on any other platform. That’s two times better than TV ads! Even crazier, 60% of teens watch the full ads on YouTube instead of skipping. You can thank Google’s world-class ad targeting.
180 to 240 milligrams
Of caffeine in Starbucks’ new iced energy drinks. Fruity flavors like Melon Burst and Tropical Citrus are a hit with teens and have as much caffeine as six Cokes. Panera recalled its Charged Lemonade this year after drinking one allegedly sent a kid into cardiac arrest. Warn your Starbucks-loving teens.
🍿 Movie deal: Parents, set up a new Uber for Teens account, and your kid can get a free ride to see “Inside Out 2” in theaters from June 14 to June 21. Open the app, tap Wallet > Promotions > Add Promo and enter INSIDEOUT2. Bonus: If you add your child to your Uber account between June 11 and June 17, you can also score two free movie tickets.
What could possibly go wrong? An anonymous message board app wreaked havoc at a Vermont high school. It only took hours for the convos to go from lighthearted fun to hardcore bullying, sending teens in tears to their guidance counselors. The company has pulled the school from its platform for now (paywall link).