In the Spotlight


Kids Technology Over-Use

Workshop on Kids’ Technology Over-Use


On October 19 the Institute for Privacy Protection at Seton Hall Law will host a workshop on Kids' Technology Over-Use. It will convene experts in the areas of technology design, corporate activism, mental health, education, public advocacy and law to address kids' excessive use of technology. 

Kids are spending excessive time attached to their smartphones and screens. Mental health professionals' research findings indicate a disturbing impact on health, relationships and general well-being. Recently, technology designers and corporate activists began advocating for a less addictive design of phones and social networks; and the French government has banned cell phones from schools to prevent screen addiction.

The workshop will bring together leaders who are working to address kids' excessive use of technology in different fields, including technology design, corporate activism, psychology, medicine, education and public advocacy.

Professor Gaia Bernstein, Director of the Institute for Privacy Protection, explained: "Our goal is to facilitate a dialogue between these experts and to examine potential social and legal courses of action on this pressing matter."

The workshop will complement the Institute for Privacy Protection's nationally recognized School Outreach Program, which educates parents and kids at the age in which they receive their first cell phone, on issues related to privacy and maintaining a healthy online-offline balance. Professor Bernstein added: "Speaking to parents through the Outreach Program, I realized that parents feel extremely isolated in often-failing home battles. My hope is that this Workshop will help us frame the problem and the solution as a social and legal issue."

Event Agenda: Workshop on Kids’ Technology Over-Use