In this episode of the EZ Conversations Podcast, former middle school teacher and author Emily Cherkin discusses the impact of technology and social media on children and adolescents. Emily shares her observations from teaching, where she noticed that social media and digital technology significantly affected students' in-class relationships and communication skills. She highlights the importance of parental involvement, emphasizing open dialogue, modelling good tech behaviour, and building relationships. Emily also underscores the collective action required to create norms around technology use in schools and communities. The conversation covers strategies for managing tech use, the unintended consequences of parental controls, and the importance of resilience and relationship-building in child development.