Almost every online activity leaves a digital footprint that becomes permanent and searchable, its use out of the control of the owner. Today, kids are growing up with technology all around them, influencing normal developmental tasks that rely on peer interaction.

Social media provides a stage for identity exploration by enabling kids to publicly “test” different versions of themselves. However, social networks expand feedback beyond legitimate peers to a broader public. The desire for social validation, paramount during adolescence, can create pressures to adopt an artificial façade or give in to peer pressure (Iwasa et al., 2023). Tweens and teens may not understand that something posted in a split second to make them desirable or popular can impact their digital footprint and follow them into adulthood. A short-term social gain can have longer-term costs when the permanence of online content makes it hard to reclaim an authentic self. How do we prepare our kids to successfully grow up in public?

I just finished reading Devorah Heitner's Growing Up in Public (2023). Heitner takes my question about preparing kids head-on and explores the impact of the "sharing and comparing" culture on young minds. Her book is a balanced perspective on how kids interact with digital media, drawn from research and........

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