Helping parents stay up to date on the news that matters when trying to raise teenagers
Keeping up with the tech our teens use at school can feel like a full-time job. If your teen’s school uses Google for student accounts, Google is changing how those accounts work. On school-issued student accounts, Google Search will only come with its AI features included, so a school that doesn’t want students using AI would have to leave Search off. Schools that don’t use Google aren’t affected, and neither is your teen’s personal Google account.
So far, the coverage has been about U.S. schools, and Google hasn’t said whether the change applies in Canada. In Chicago, parents, teachers and students protested outside Google’s office this week to push back. With so much debate over Google Gemini AI in schools, it’s worth asking whether your teen’s school uses Google and what it plans to do.
That’s where today’s post starts, with a few more stories you can bring up over dinner. Throw out a topic, see what happens. Who knows what you will learn.
After Google warns schools about disabling AI feature, Chicago protesters say ‘we don’t want your Gemini’ (Chalkbeat)
About 30 parents, educators and students protested outside Google’s Chicago office on Wednesday. Google has said that schools which switch off its AI features will lose Google Search for students too. Chicago Public Schools has already blocked students from AI tools including ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini, and says it’s looking for a way to hide Google’s AI Overviews or move to another search tool. A similar protest happened the same day in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Ask your teen: Do you use AI for schoolwork, and would you be OK if your school turned it off?
NYC’s $26 million Teenspace mental health contract in limbo as officials stay quiet (Chalkbeat)
New York City’s free teletherapy service lets teens reach a therapist by text, phone or video. About 52,000 young people have signed up since it launched in 2023, but the city won’t say whether it will keep it going. The $26 million contract runs through the company Talkspace, and parent advocates have raised concerns about how users’ data gets shared.
Ask your teen: Have you heard of apps that let teens text with a therapist? Is that something you or your friends would ever try?
Major platforms to face social media class action lawsuit over teen mental health harms (The Australian)
YouTube, Snapchat and TikTok are set to face a large class action in Australia. It claims the way their platforms are designed has caused psychiatric harm to minors. The Australian reports it’s part of a wider case that also targets Meta’s Facebook and Instagram.
Ask your teen: Have you heard about this? Do you think some apps are built to keep you scrolling longer than you’d like?
That’s it for today. I hope you found something interesting that can help you on your journey of raising teenagers.
More on raising teens from Like a Dad
- Teen Statistics for Parents
- How Late Should a 16-Year-Old Be Out?
- Teen Slang Decoded: How to Understand What Your Kids Are Saying
- Dad Bucket List: 25 Things to Do With Your Teen Before They Leave Home
- From 67 to Rizz: A Parent’s Totally Wrong Guide to TikTok Slang
- When Your Teen Says Stop Posting Photos of Me
