Social Media and Kids' Mental Health: A Critical Look at the Evidence, with Melinda Wenner Moyer

Rethinking Wellness

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Science and parenting journalist Melinda Wenner Moyer joins us to discuss the real risks of social media and smartphones for kids (and all of us), what the popular book THE ANXIOUS GENERATION gets wrong about the science on teens and technology, the similarities in the discourse about tech and “ultraprocessed” food, diet culture in the parenting space, how to raise kids to have a healthy relationship with technology and smartphones, and more.

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Melinda Wenner Moyer is a science, health and parenting journalist and is a regular contributor — and former columnist — at The New York Times. She writes the parenting Substack Is My Kid the Asshole?, which has more than 24,000 subscribers from 159 countries. Her first book, How To Raise Kids Who Aren’t Assholes, has been published in 13 languages and won a gold medal in the 2022 Living Now Book Awards. Her second book, Hello Cruel World: Science-Based Strategies for Raising Terrific Kids in Terrifying Times, will be published in the summer of 2025.

Melinda was the recipient of the 2022 Excellence in Science Journalism award from The Society for Personality and Social Psychology, the 2019 Bricker Award for Science Writing in Medicine, and her work was featured in the 2020 Best American Science and Nature Writing anthology. She has taught science journalism at NYU's Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute and the CUNY's Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism. She has a master’s degree in Science, Health & Environmental Reporting from NYU and a background in cell and molecular biology. She lives in New York’s Hudson Valley with her husband, two children, and her dog.

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Christy's second book, The Wellness Trap, is available wherever books are sold! Order it here, or ask for it in your favorite local bookstore.

If you're looking to make peace with food and break free from diet and wellness culture, come check out Christy's Intuitive Eating Fundamentals online course.