Ep 3: Girls as Happy, Healthy Individuals

"Being posted when you didn’t give permission to be posted is really uncomfortable, and yet it is a reminder that there could be a camera on you at any time.” (Maddie, North Carolina, USA) Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Snapchat, WhatsApp. We know these apps because we--and our daughters-- use these apps. Girls growing up today have no “before.” Social media has always been a part of their lives as they are the second generation to come of age with smartphones in hand. Knowing that it is nearly impossible to restrict access to social media apps, parents and schools are becoming intentional about proactively addressing the topic, using new apps, educational programming and emerging research to help girls negotiate this powerful and potentially treacherous force. In this episode, host Trudy Hall, former NCGS Board Chair and advocate for girls schools, will speak with Dr Catherine Steiner-Adair, a clinical psychologist, author and practitioner who has committed herself for over a decade to minimize the substantial social media risks for teenagers. Author of The Big Disconnect, Dr Steiner-Adair cares deeply about ensuring children have what she calls “the tools of our humanity”--empathy, ethics and social-emotional intelligence--even as she understands that their ability to master technology will play a crucial role in their success as adults. Her wisdom comes from her extensive research and her conversations with hundreds of girls. This podcast is created to launch what must be an ongoing conversation on a critical topic that is front and centre in the lives of girls: managing the energy girls devote to a growing number of social media apps purporting to offer value to their lives. Schools and parents are necessary partners in this work, as the boundaries between school and home are blurred in this terrain. You will find useful advice and wisdom as you help girls become responsible citizens online.