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‘Love Island’ isn’t real, but it might reflect the way we date featured image

‘Love Island’ isn’t real, but it might reflect the way we date

For millions of viewers, “Love Island” has been a summer obsession – a chance to peek in on a sunny villa full of beautiful singles looking for love. But according to Andrew Selepak, Ph.D., a media professor at the University of Florida, the reality show isn’t really about romance. “The reality of reality TV is that it doesn’t reflect reality,” Selepak said. “These are people who were selected; they were cast just like you would cast a movie or a scripted TV show.” Still, what happens on the island isn’t completely disconnected from real life. The show's format, which is built on snap decisions, physical attraction, and frequent recouplings, mirrors the current dating landscape in unsettling ways. “I think it's reflective of the current culture that young people are experiencing with dating, which is very superficial and doesn't lead to long-term lasting relationships because a long-term lasting relationship can't be based on superficial qualities,” Selepak said. Selepak compares “Love Island” to “TV Tinder.” Much like on dating apps, contestants size each other up based on looks and vibes rather than values or long-term compatibility. And while the show promotes the idea of finding “the one,” the numbers tell a different story. “It’s like less than 12% of the couples actually remain together for any period of time,” Selepak said. “At some point, you would think people would realize it’s fake.” However, viewers continue to watch, and contestants continue to sign up. Why? Because the point isn't necessarily to find love. It's about visibility, likes and followers. “This is where you have the social media aspect playing in, where people are looking to become influencers and to gain fame, notoriety, likes and follows,” Selepak said. “The people who are on the shows, these are people who intentionally have gone out and said, 'I want my dirty laundry to be on TV.’ There's a narcissistic aspect of wanting to be on a show like that. Most people, I think, would be hesitant to tell their deep, dark secrets – or tell the things about themselves that they would normally only share with a select few – to a large audience.” For contestants, this often means performing love rather than experiencing it – a behavior that echoes real-world dating on social media. For audiences, “Love Island” gives them the dissatisfaction of watching beautiful people experience the same dating struggles they do. In the end, “Love Island” may not teach us how to find lasting love, but it might explain why so many people are struggling to.

Andrew Selepak profile photo
2 min. read
Expert Perspective: Race and Representation Take Center Stage in Texas’ Democratic U.S. Senate Primary featured image

Expert Perspective: Race and Representation Take Center Stage in Texas’ Democratic U.S. Senate Primary

As Texas Democrats head toward a competitive 2026 U.S. Senate primary, conversations about race and representation are playing a visible role in the campaign. In a recent Spectrum News segment, Baylor University political analyst Dr. Mia Moody discusses how racial identity, voter perceptions, and candidate messaging are influencing the dynamics of the race. Mia Moody, Ph.D., is a professor and former chair of the Department of Journalism, Public Relations, and New Media in the Baylor University College of Arts & Sciences. She is a nationally recognized expert on mass media and image repair, intersectionality, critical race theory, and the media framing of women and people of color. View her profile The story explores how candidates are navigating issues of representation within a diverse Democratic electorate, and how those discussions could impact turnout and coalition-building ahead of the primary. Watch the full report for expert insight into how race is shaping one of Texas’ most closely watched political contests. The full story is available below:

Mia Moody, Ph.D. profile photo
1 min. read
Experts in the Media: What You Need  to Know About Medication Safety and Everyday Health featured image

Experts in the Media: What You Need to Know About Medication Safety and Everyday Health

From medication safety to seasonal illness prevention, pharmacists are often the most accessible, and overlooked,  healthcare professionals in our communities. In a recent segment on NBC, Dr. Shannon Yarosz breaks down common misconceptions about prescriptions, explains how drug interactions really work, and shares practical advice patients can use immediately to better manage their health. Dr. Shannon Yarosz is an Assistant Professor of Pharmacy Practice. Prior to joining the faculty at Cedarville University, served in multiple pharmacy roles. Her career reflects a deep commitment to patient care with experience in pediatrics, community pharmacy practice, and clinical healthcare services. As healthcare systems face growing pressure and patients navigate increasingly complex medication regimens, pharmacists are playing a larger role than ever before. This discussion highlights why their expertise matters, from helping patients avoid costly mistakes to providing front-line guidance on everyday health concerns. When should I stop taking antibiotics? Is it ok to stop when I begin feeling better? This question and several others were addressed in this week's Ask the Pharmacist segment on WDTN TV in Dayton, Ohio. Looking to know more or connect with Dr. Shannon Yarosz? Simply contact: Mark D. Weinstein Executive Director of Public Relations Cedarville University mweinstein@cedarville.edu

1 min. read
How AI can improve poor leadership writing and boost productivity featured image

How AI can improve poor leadership writing and boost productivity

Poor written communication from leaders can create the kind of confusion it intended to avoid. University of Delaware career expert Jill Gugino Panté suggests using AI to sharpen emails, clarify expectations and reduce unnecessary calls. Getting through to employees with strong messaging can boost productivity by saving time and reducing unwanted meetings, she says. Panté, director of UD's Lerner Career Services Center, says that good leadership writing should be direct and outcome-driven, with no fluff, and offered the following advice for improvement. ✅ Don’t bury the lead. Start with what decision needs to be made, what action is required, and the deadline. If your writing doesn’t reduce ambiguity, it’s going to add to it. Vague communication can create interpretation gaps which, in turn, can create more meetings. When ownership isn’t defined, decisions aren’t documented, or outcomes aren’t clear, teams default to “Let’s hop on a call.” Meetings then become the fallback for unclear thinking. ✅ Generative AI can be a powerful clarity tool if it’s used intentionally. When used well, it can sharpen your ask and structure communication for action. The key is prompting it to refine your message, not just polish it. Leaders can use prompts like: • “Rewrite this message so the action, owner, deadline, and success metrics are explicitly stated" • “What assumptions or ambiguities exist in this message?” ✅ Good writing can replace unnecessary meetings. If communication is not direct, outcome-driven, and structured for action, it will cost you time somewhere else. Here are some practical actions that leaders can make in their writing: • Start with the Ask - Be explicit about what decision or action is needed. Don’t make people search for it. • Define Outcomes - Clarify deliverables, timelines, budgets and state what success looks like. • Clarify Ownership - Identify who is responsible for the request. • Document Decisions - Write down what has been decided and reiterate next steps, owners, and deadlines. To connect with Panté directly and arrange an interview, visit her profile and click on the "contact" button. Interested media can also send an email to MediaRelations@udel.edu.

Jill Panté profile photo
2 min. read
What Time Should You Actually Turn Off Your Phone at Night? featured image

What Time Should You Actually Turn Off Your Phone at Night?

Everyone’s heard you’re “not supposed to be on your phone before bed” but what does that actually mean in 2026? Most major sleep organizations now recommend putting devices away at least 30–60 minutes before bedtime to protect melatonin and help the brain wind down. The National Sleep Foundation and the American Academy of Sleep Medicine both advise turning off screens about an hour before bed; other experts say a 30–60 minute window is the minimum. (Advisory) Research on blue light shows that evening screen exposure suppresses melatonin and delays sleep, especially when you’re scrolling something stimulating. (Sutter Health) Psychotherapist Harshi Sritharan, MSW, RSW, who specializes in ADHD and digital dependency, puts it bluntly: “To ensure quality sleep and peak performance—whether in sports, work, or school—avoid using your phone after 11 p.m.” For teens and adults with ADHD or anxiety, she says, late-night doomscrolling is especially brutal: screens keep dopamine and stress high at exactly the time the nervous system should be powering down. Harshi says: "The quality of sleep determines your level of executive functioning the next day" She also makes an important distinction: if you are on a device in the evening, active use (choosing a show, talking to friends, looking up something specific) is less harmful than passive use: “Don’t do passive tech use — that doom scrolling, content just being thrown at you,” Sritharan says. “Be more active about your tech use.” That kind of passive feed is more likely to serve up emotionally intense content kids didn’t ask for and aren’t ready to process. You Don’t Need a Perfect Curfew to See Results The good news: the science suggests you don’t have to quit completely at night to feel a difference. A JAMA Network Open study on young adults found that reducing social media use for just one week — not going cold turkey — led to about a 24.8% drop in depression, 16.1% drop in anxiety and 14.5% improvement in insomnia symptoms. Offline.now founder Eli Singer argues that the real challenge is confidence, not willpower. Their data show 8 in 10 people want a healthier relationship with tech, but more than half feel too overwhelmed to know where to start. The platform’s behavior data also show that late afternoons and evenings are when phones dominate use and when people are actually most motivated to make changes. We have less in the tank at night, don't trust willpower to transition off. Have a system/routine of pre-decided of low-effort (potentially fun) activities to help the transition off phones. “We tell people: don’t start with a perfect 8 p.m. curfew,” Singer says. “Start with one realistic phone-off window — even 30 minutes before bed — and prove to yourself you can protect that. That first win matters more than an ideal schedule you’ll never keep.” A Simple, Science-Aligned Answer For most people, Offline.now’s experts land on a practical, high-compliance answer to the question “What time should I turn off my phone?” Aim to put your phone away 30–60 minutes before your target bedtime Make everything after that screen-free by default (books, stretching, music, talking, journaling) If you must be on a device late, keep it brief, low-drama and intentional — no infinite feeds, no emotionally loaded content It’s a small change, but in the context of a day where we’re already on screens for roughly 10 of our 16 waking hours, that last hour matters. Featured Experts Harshi Sritharan, MSW, RSW – Psychotherapist specializing in ADHD, anxiety, insomnia and digital dependency. She explains how late-night and early-morning phone use hijack dopamine, disrupt sleep and make it harder for kids and adults to function the next day. Eli Singer – Founder of Offline.now and author of Offline.now: A Practical Guide to Healthy Digital Balance. He speaks to the platform’s behavioral data on when people are most ready to change, and how 20-minute micro-experiments (like one phone-off window at night) build real confidence over time. Expert interviews can be arranged through the Offline.now media team.

Harshi Sritharan profile photoEli Singer profile photo
3 min. read
What Makes Someone an Expert? featured image

What Makes Someone an Expert?

When you are first introduced to expertise marketing it can be hard to imagine that there are experts hiding within your organization. We tend to think of experts as a small group at the top but in reality that is just the tip of the iceberg. Across teams and departments there are people with the knowledge, skills and experience to contribute to meaningful conversations with your audiences. These individuals may not always carry the title of expert but their perspectives can help explain complex issues, contribute to research and shape the content your organization produces. When their expertise is recognized and supported it can help build trust with key audiences including media, industry partners and prospective clients. The challenge many organizations face is knowing how to assess expertise in the first place. To identify these hidden experts and understand the role they can play in an expertise marketing program it helps to start with a simple question. What actually makes someone an expert? The 7 Attributes of Expertise By definition an expert is someone with comprehensive or authoritative knowledge in a particular area of study. While formal education and certifications can be important starting points many fields do not have a clear set of criteria that determines expertise. In practice expertise develops through a combination of training, research, professional experience and real-world application. It is also shaped by the level of trust and recognition someone has earned within their profession or community. When evaluating expertise across your organization it is important to consider the different roles people can play. Many individuals have invested years developing deep knowledge in their fields but not everyone is interested in speaking at conferences or appearing in the media. That does not reduce the value of their expertise. Many contribute through research, insights and content development that support broader visibility for the organization. Here are several attributes that help define expertise and the roles people can play within an expertise marketing strategy. Authority: Has a reputation with an audience as a trusted source of insight and perspective. Advocate: Demonstrates a commitment to advancing a professional community or area of practice. Educator: Teaches and inspires others through lectures, presentations or classroom instruction. Author: Develops articles, commentary or thought leadership that expands their reach and influence. Researcher: Generates new insights through research, analysis or field work. Practitioner: Applies specialized knowledge in a professional setting by delivering services or solutions. Graduate: Has formal education or professional training that demonstrates proficiency in a subject area. Understanding these attributes helps organizations see that expertise exists across many roles. Once those individuals are identified the next step is determining how their expertise can contribute to broader visibility and engagement.   The 4 Levels of Expertise Understanding how to promote expertise is an emerging discipline for many organizations. Unlike traditional career paths expertise does not always follow a predictable hierarchy. When we consider which experts are most visible to audiences it becomes clear that visibility is not always tied to seniority or authority within an organization. Professionals at many stages of their careers are now sharing insights through social networks, industry publications and personal platforms. This means that a senior researcher with decades of experience and a younger professional actively sharing insights online could have a similar level of visibility. Because visibility is influenced by personal motivation and interest in public engagement many organizations recognize the need to better identify and support experts across their teams. Doing so helps ensure that valuable knowledge is not overlooked and that more voices can contribute to meaningful conversations. The framework below can help organizations take inventory of their expertise and develop a path for individuals who are interested in contributing content and building visibility with key audiences. Now that we’ve provided a broader picture of what expertise looks like, it’s time for you to ask, “How does my organization stack up?”   Bench Strength: Taking Stock of Expertise Across Your Organization Expertise is in high demand. Audiences are looking for credible voices who can provide context and insight on complex issues. For organizations, this means it is critical to understand how their collective expertise can be channeled into meaningful conversations with their audiences. As you review the attributes and levels of expertise outlined above you may begin to recognize individuals within your organization who have valuable knowledge but may not have been considered visible experts before. Identifying these individuals is an important first step but recognition alone is not enough. Mobilizing expertise marketing requires support and investment from leadership across the organization. Senior leaders will want to understand the value of elevating internal expertise and how it contributes to reputation, visibility and opportunity. The organizations that succeed are those that recognize expertise as a strategic asset and take deliberate steps to surface it, support it and share it with the audiences who are actively searching for it. The Complete Guide to Expertise Marketing For a comprehensive look at how expertise marketing benefits the entire organization and drives measurable return on investment, follow the link below to download an industry-focussed copy of ExpertFile’s Complete Guide to Expertise Marketing: The Next Wave in Digital Strategy

Peter Evans profile photoRobert Carter profile photo
4 min. read
How ACL injury derailed Lindsey Vonn's heroic return to Olympic competition featured image

How ACL injury derailed Lindsey Vonn's heroic return to Olympic competition

An ACL rupture couldn't keep skiier Lindsey Vonn off the slopes to start this week's Olympics. But according to the University of Delaware's Dr. Karin Silbernagel, the injury likely contributed to her inability to land safely Sunday on the downhill course in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy. The crash ended her heroic return to competition Dr. Silbernagel, a professor of physical therapy, studies tendon injuries in the ankle and knee in elite athletes, especially Achilles ruptures and ankle function. She was quoted in an ESPN story about the rash of such injuries in the NBA and can specifically address the impact they could have on competition now and for the rest of an athlete's career. Her research shows that even after successful surgery, many athletes return to competition but not many among them return to peak explosiveness or durability. The impact a major injury would have on a fresh injury like Vonn's is obvious, she said. Dr. Silbernagel's research on ankle and knee injuries dates back to the early 2000s. She consults with professional sports teams relating to tendon injuries and is a consultant to the NFL's Musculoskeletal Committee. To connect directly with Dr. Silbernagel and arrange an interview, visit her profile and click the "contact" button. Interested members of the media can also send an email to MediaRelatons@udel.edu.

Karin Gravare Silbernagel profile photo
1 min. read
The Double-Edged Scroll: Why Passive Screen Time Drains You More Than Active Use featured image

The Double-Edged Scroll: Why Passive Screen Time Drains You More Than Active Use

Most conversations about “screen time” focus on hours. But newer research and what clinicians see in practice suggest how you use your phone may matter as much as how much you use it. A 2024 meta-analysis of 141 studies on active vs passive social media use found that, overall, effects are small, but there is a pattern: passive use (just scrolling and watching) is more consistently associated with worse emotional outcomes, while some forms of active use (commenting, messaging, posting) show small links to greater wellbeing and online social support. (OUP Academic) Other work from Frontiers in Psychology suggests that the emotional impact of passive use depends heavily on how you feel about the content: when it triggers envy, comparison or negativity, mental ill-being goes up; when it’s genuinely positive, the effect can be neutral or even slightly protective for some users. (Frontiers) Reviews also point to upward social comparison, FOMO and rumination as key pathways linking passive browsing to lower wellbeing. (ScienceDirect) Psychotherapist Harshi Sritharan, MSW, RSW works with teens and adults who feel “wiped out” by their feeds and draws a sharp line between passive and active tech use: “Don’t do passive tech use — that doom scrolling, or content just being thrown at you,” she says. “I want people to engage in active tech use. Go and search something up, choose the long-form video you actually want, talk to your friends. Don’t let the app decide everything you see — especially for kids, who are getting content they’re not ready for and didn’t sign up for.” She notes that many of her clients describe feeling “numb, anxious or wired” after long passive sessions, a sign that their nervous system is being pulled around by unpredictable, emotionally loaded content rather than chosen experiences. She also discussed the short term recall related to scrolling: "Some of my clients can't even remember what content they consumed right after scrolling. However, we know that what we pay attention to and what we show our brains has an impact on our thoughts, mindset, feelings and overall internal world." Offline.now founder Eli Singer frames this as a design problem, not a moral failing. The platform’s research shows people already spend about 10 of their 16 waking hours on screens; the realistic goal is to upgrade some of that time, not pretend we can all go offline. His advice: instead of vowing to “get off your phone,” start by swapping just 20 minutes a day from passive to active use; for example, messaging a friend to meet up, learning something specific, or planning an offline activity. “When people tell us they feel overwhelmed by their screen habits, it’s not laziness, it’s a crisis of confidence,” Singer says. “We don’t need perfect digital detoxes. We need small, winnable shifts, like taking one block of passive scrolling and turning it into something you actually chose.” For journalists, the story isn’t simply “screens are bad.” It’s that passive, algorithm-driven scrolling is where comparison, FOMO and emotional overload tend to pile up and that helping people change how they use their devices may be more realistic, and more effective, than focusing on raw minutes alone. Featured Experts Harshi Sritharan, MSW, RSW – Psychotherapist specializing in ADHD, anxiety, insomnia and digital dependency. She helps teens and adults understand how doomscrolling and passive feeds hijack dopamine and mood, and teaches practical shifts toward more intentional, “active” tech use. Eli Singer – Founder of Offline.now and author of Offline.now: A Practical Guide to Healthy Digital Balance. He brings proprietary data on digital overwhelm and the “confidence gap,” and shows how 20-minute “micro-wins” like upgrading one chunk of passive screen time can change people’s relationship with their phones without extreme detoxes. Expert interviews can be arranged through the Offline.now media team.

Harshi Sritharan profile photoEli Singer profile photo
3 min. read
We Don’t Realize How Much Time We Spend With AI. Because It’s Hiding in Our Phones featured image

We Don’t Realize How Much Time We Spend With AI. Because It’s Hiding in Our Phones

If you ask most people how often they use AI, they’ll say something like: “I tried ChatGPT a couple of times” or “I don’t really use AI.” But look at their phone, and the story is completely different. Digital wellness platform Offline.now has found that we already spend about 10 of our 16 waking hours on screens, roughly 63% of our day. Founder Eli Singer calls AI “the shadow roommate inside those 10 hours”: invisible most of the time, but involved in more of our everyday taps and swipes than we realize. And we now have data to prove it. A recent Talker Research survey of 2,000 U.S. adults, commissioned by Samsung, found that 90% of Americans use AI features on their phones, but only 38% realize it. Common features like weather alerts, call screening, autocorrect, night-mode camera enhancements and auto-brightness are all powered by AI — yet more than half of respondents initially said they don’t use AI at all. Once shown a list of features, 86% admitted they use AI tools daily. (Lifewire) Singer sees this as a classic “confidence gap” problem applied to AI. Beyond the “invisible AI” on our phones, generative AI tools like ChatGPT, Claude and image generators are spreading fast. A nationally representative U.S. survey from Harvard’s Kennedy School and the Real-Time Population Survey found that by August 2024, about 39% of adults aged 18–64 were using generative AI. More than 24% of workers had used it at least once in the previous week, and nearly 1 in 9 used it every single workday. (NBER) Globally, usage is enormous. A World Bank backed analysis of online activity estimated that, as of March 2024, the top 40 generative AI tools attracted nearly 3 billion visits per month from hundreds of millions of users. ChatGPT alone commanded about 82.5% of that traffic. (Open Knowledge Repository) From a mental-health perspective, psychotherapist Harshi Sritharan, MSW, RSW says the issue isn’t just the number of visits, it’s the way AI subtly shapes the texture of our day. “Every autocorrect, every AI-sorted inbox, every ‘magic’ photo fix is a tiny cognitive hand-off,” she explains. “Individually they feel helpful. But taken together, they keep your brain in a constant state of micro-decisions and micro-rewards, which is exhausting, especially if you already struggle with ADHD, anxiety or overwhelm.” She points out that many of her clients only think of “AI time” as the hours they spend in a chatbot window. In reality, AI is involved when: Their phone decides which notifications to surface A map app reroutes them automatically Spam filters silently screen hundreds of emails “By the time they open a dedicated AI app, their nervous system has already been engaging with AI-driven features all day,” Sritharan says. “That’s part of why people end the day feeling tapped out but can’t quite explain why.” Singer worries that this “shadow AI” is quietly eating into the same finite resource Offline.now tracks with screens in general: attention. “We already know 10 hours a day on screens is unsustainable for our focus and our relationships,” he says. “Layer AI on top — systems designed to predict and nudge our behavior — and you’re not just losing time. You’re outsourcing micro-chunks of judgment, memory and choice without even noticing.” So how much time are people spending with AI? Right now, no one has a perfect number and that’s exactly the point. The best data we have suggests: Most smartphone users are already interacting with AI daily, whether they know it or not. (Lifewire) Roughly 4 in 10 U.S. adults now use generative AI, with a growing share using it at work every week or every day. (Harvard Kennedy School) Globally, billions of monthly visits are flowing into AI tools on top of our existing 10-hour screen days. (Open Knowledge Repository) “The future isn’t AI or no AI,” Singer says. “It’s: Can you be conscious about how you use it — instead of letting it hijack your attention and manage your life?” Featured Experts Eli Singer – Founder of Offline.now and author of Offline.now: A Practical Guide to Healthy Digital Balance. He brings proprietary behavioral data on screen time and digital overwhelm, and a framework (the Offline.now Matrix) for rebuilding confidence through 20-minute, real-world steps instead of all-or-nothing “detox” advice. Harshi Sritharan, MSW, RSW – Psychotherapist specializing in ADHD, anxiety and digital dependency. She explains how AI-assisted micro-tasks interact with dopamine, attention and overwhelm, and offers brain-friendly ways to renegotiate your relationship with both screens and AI. Expert interviews can be arranged through the Offline.now media team.

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4 min. read
Do Teens Secretly Want Phone Boundaries More Than Adults Think? featured image

Do Teens Secretly Want Phone Boundaries More Than Adults Think?

Ask a parent about phones and teens, and you’ll hear the same story: “They’re glued to that thing and don’t care.” But when you ask teens themselves, a different picture emerges. A recent Pew Research Center study found that about 95% of U.S. teens have access to a smartphone — and around 4 in 10 say they spend too much time on it. (Pew Research Center) Coverage of the same data notes that over 70% of teens say they feel happiness or peace when they’re not tethered to their device, even as they rely on it for social life. (KTUL) Psychotherapist Harshi Sritharan, MSW, RSW, who works with teens and young adults on digital dependency, sees that ambivalence every day. “I have 12- to 15-year-olds who come in and say, ‘I know I’m kind of addicted to my phone,’” she says. “When a teenager says that, I’m relieved — it means we have something to work with.” She stresses that most young people don’t actually want to be left alone with endless scrolling — they want help making sense of it. Teen Limits Work Better Than Parents Think New data suggests that reasonable limits can help and that many teens benefit when parents set them thoughtfully. A tool parents can use is collaborative problem solving. This involves parents and teens working together to come up with a plan for the best strategies that combat everyone’s concerns while compromising. A 2024 Springtide Research Institute survey of 1,112 13-year-olds found that teens whose parents limit their screen time are less likely to be heavy users: only 32% of those with limits use their phone 5+ hours a day, compared with 55%of those with unlimited time. Just 24% of teens with limits said they’d felt like they had a mental health problem, versus 32% with no limits.(Springtide Research Institute) In other words, boundaries are mildly protective, not cruel, especially when they’re explained instead of imposed. Sritharan cautions against “no phones ever” rules that ignore school and social realities: “We can’t make blanket statements of ‘no screens’,” she says. “We shape how kids use devices so they can still get things done and spend more time engaging with their family.” That might mean agreeing on tech-free windows (like family dinners or the hour before bed) and tech-friendly ones (like a 45-minute bus ride where a teen can listen to music or message friends). Teens Are Leading a Quiet “Cutback” Movement Parents often feel like the only ones craving less screen time, but surveys show Gen Z is already trying to dial things down. A global survey cited by Tech Times and ExpressVPN found that about 46% of Gen Z are actively taking steps to limit their screen time, more than older generations.(Tech Times) Another U.S. poll commissioned by ThriftBooks found half of respondents are cutting back on screens, with Gen Z and millennials leading — and 84% adopting analog habits like printed books, paper planners and board games.(New York Post) Reporting on the “board game revival” among Gen Z echoes the same trend: young people are consciously seeking offline, face-to-face ways to connect.(Woke Waves) For Offline.now experts, this adds up to a simple message: teens aren’t fighting all boundaries — they’re fighting feeling controlled or misunderstood. Parents as Co-Pilots, Not Phone Police Executive Function Coach Craig Selinger, M.S., CCC-SLP says the real leverage point isn’t just new rules; it’s how parents model and co-create them. “If you want behavior change in kids, start with the parent model,” he says. “A 12-year-old will not put their phone away at dinner if their parents won’t.” He encourages families to focus on “little moments” where phones quietly block connection — especially car rides and in-between times when kids might naturally open up: “In the car, your kid is trapped with you,” Selinger says. “That’s when they start talking. If they’re on their phone the whole time, you lose those big conversations hiding in the boring moments.” Both experts emphasize co-designing boundaries with teens: agreeing together on tech-free times and how late-night scrolling affects mood and school performance. When teens feel heard — and see adults following the same rules — boundaries feel less like punishment and more like shared protection. For journalists, the story isn’t “teens vs phones” or “parents vs teens.” It’s that both sides are quietly overwhelmed, and many young people are more open to limits than adults realize — if those limits are built with them, not against them. Featured Experts Harshi Sritharan, MSW, RSW – Psychotherapist specializing in ADHD, anxiety, insomnia and digital dependency. She helps teens and young adults understand dopamine cycles, distinguish passive vs active tech use, and build realistic phone boundaries that support sleep, school and mental health. Craig Selinger, M.S., CCC-SLP – Executive Function Coach and child development specialist (Brooklyn Letters). He focuses on how tech use shapes learning, attention and family dynamics, and how parents can model healthy habits and co-create screen rules that actually stick. (Expert interviews can be arranged through the Offline.now media team.)

Harshi Sritharan profile photoCraig Selinger profile photo
4 min. read