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🛡️ PYE Download - July 2026
Published 12 days ago • 4 min read
The PYE Download: July 1, 2026
Hello! Once a month, we download the digital news that impacts your family, update you on what the Protect Young Eyes team is up to, and end with a note from Chris.
We hope our research helps you feel informed and confident, and that our work with schools, churches, and non-profits is motivating.
Thank you for reading this!
The latest news:
🤯 The US House passed the KIDS Act (NCOSE). The KIDS Act was pushed through the House, despite opposition from child safety groups, survivor parents, and even policy orgs we usually oppose. Our take? We're focusing on Senators, asking them to REJECT this bill (take action here).
❓Most AI models skew answers to the political left (WaPo). ChatGPT answered nearly every question exclusively with left-leaning arguments and presented right-leaning positions just once. Our take? Teach your children to approach all AI output with skepticism!
😬 Safety features in YouTube and social media don't always work (NY Times). Researchers found that teens can discover harmful content, connect with unknown adults, and easily bypass time limits. Our take? We know! So, we promote 5 layers of protection to keep kids safer!
😳 Kids are turning to AI chatbots instead of adults (Common Sense Media). A June study reported that 27% of kids who frequently use AI would rather ask a chatbot about health and body issues than a trusted adult. Our take? AI is the new porn talk! Drip curious questions about tech into car time, meal time, and bedtime. Quick video here with ideas.
🧸 Is Toy Story 5 about screentime or something else? (Substack). Excellent writing by teacher Kevin Stinehart: "I think it is really about the developmental world children lose when screens become the easiest place to find belonging, imagination, comfort, and control." Our take? Yes, it's the opportunity cost! They get one precious childhood! Have you seen it?
🧐 WhatsApp is finally allowing usernames! (Wired). Even if you only use WhatsApp sometimes, you might want to snag your username now to stop giving out your phone number. Go to: Account -> Settings -> Username.
👊🏼 The uprising against tech in the classroom (WSJ). 81% of elementary teachers across the United States said students receive devices in class by kindergarten. Our take? Take most of it away! Here are 6 questions to ask your principal about tech in August.
What PYE is up to:
Translating our parent talk into Mandarin!
This month, I'm delivering our main parent presentation at a Chinese-immersion school. Spanish, Mandarin, Romanian, or English - whatever we can do to help families everywhere create safer digital spaces!
Thank you! I've been warmed by encouraging emails and messages. I received this one tonight: "We are reading your book as a family, and it is absolutely amazing! So many things that we have never thought about!" If you purchased it, would you consider leaving a review?
On behalf of the Human Change Foundation, I moderated a discussion with Dr. Jenny Radesky, Dr. Gaia Bernstein, and Dr. Mitch Prinstein. Our goals: educate parentsabout anthropomorphic AI, explain why it is damaging to children’s psychology, and provide tools to prepare for and protect against it.
Social Media Victims Remembrance Day.
Amy Neville and Kristin Bride both lost sons - Alexander and Carson - to harm experienced on Snapchat on the same day: June 23, 2020. Instead of staying silent in their grief, they have been fighting for our children ever since. On June 23, I was in DC to support them.
That's how long my youngest son is at a fine arts camp in Michigan, and we can't talk to him. He has no phone. Nothing!
We can send care packages (we have!). Write letters (Grandma did!). Even send emails that they print and deliver to his cabin (I just sent one!).
It's day 8, and I really miss him! But I'm excited about this reset. It's an amazing camp, with a long history. Hundreds of kids from around the country descend upon it for intensives in music, dance, theater, and more.
Last weekend, his older brother went hiking with Scout friends in the Manistee National Forest. No contact with him for two days, either!
These experiences are retraining Andrea and me, too. As I continue working with schools to become phone-free, parents are one of the biggest obstacles. Without a tether to their children, they push back. Maybe we're the anxious generation!
If we’re serious about raising tech-ready kids, we must be honest about something first: Our own anxieties play a huge role in the choices we make for our kids...if we let fear dictate our every move, we’ll smother the very strength we’re hoping to cultivate in our kids. They can’t grow resilient if we don’t model resilience ourselves.
"Protect without panic" is a phrase we're using more at PYE. Have you found the balance? Do you use Life 360 sparingly? Let's challenge the narrative that surveillance is required, and instead, use it only when absolutely necessary.
Parenting with you! Chris & PYE #delayistheway
P.S. School and ministry leaders! If you want to share this newsletter with your parents, please use this direct link in your own newsletter, app, or social media!
We help families, schools, and churches create safer digital spaces. Live talks: kids K-12, staff, and parents. Curriculum, app & device guides. Become a PYE member! #delayistheway
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The PYE Download: Resource Edition! Two items to share as we continue enjoying the sunshine: Go into the Bank (Model digital health) Today is Social Media Victims Awareness Day (June 23) Go into the Bank! I recently had a deposit to make. Nothing complicated. A check. The kind of transaction that takes 47 seconds at an ATM. Electronic submission would have made it even faster — photograph both sides, tap submit, done. I went inside instead. This is where I want to speak directly to parents....
The PYE Download: We're Published! Ten years ago, Protect Young Eyes was just a website to help families at our church. I never planned to write a book. But then the messages started coming — and they never stopped: “My 15-year-old son is asking to play Fortnite. It seems that many of his new friends are playing it, and he’d like to connect with them. He’s a responsible kid. How do we decide?” “My three young children were looking up an innocent dance with their cousin, and the search spit...
