Growing Up in Public – Coming of Age in a Digital World by Dr. Devorah Heitner is the definitive book on helping kids navigate growing up in a world where nearly every moment of their lives can be shared and compared.
With social media and constant connection, the boundaries of privacy are stretched thin. Growing Up in Public shows parents how to help tweens and teens navigate boundaries, identity, privacy, and reputation in their digital world. Dr. Heitner offers pragmatic, research-informed approaches to navigating digital milestones with kids and shows us that by focusing on character, not the threat of getting caught or exposed, we can support our kids to be authentically themselves.
Drawing on her extensive work with parents and schools as well as hundreds of interviews with kids, parents, educators, clinicians, and scholars, Heitner offers strategies for parenting our kids in an always-connected world. With relatable stories and research-backed advice, Growing Up in Public empowers parents to cut through the overwhelm to connect with their kids, recognize how to support them, and help them figure out who they are when everyone is watching.
Dr. Devorah Heitner is also the author of Screenwise: Helping Kids Thrive (and Survive) in Their Digital World. Navigating tech with kids can be overwhelming. Devorah Heitner offers pragmatic, research-informed approaches to navigating digital milestones with kids.
Dr. Heitner’s work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, and CNN Opinion. She has a PhD in Media/Technology & Society from Northwestern University and has taught at DePaul and Northwestern. She is delighted to be raising her own teenager and she lives with her family in Chicagoland.
Dr. Yalda T. Uhis, MBA, PhD, Adjunct Professor at UCLA and Founder & Executive Director at the Center for Scholars & Storytellers will join Dr. Heitner in discussion. Dr. Uhls is an internationally recognized research scientist, educator, author, and expert on the science of media and adolescent development, the importance of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and the evolving nature of parenting. Dr. Uhls’ career bridges the worlds of entertainment and psychological research. She was a movie executive at MGM and Sony who earned an MBA and Ph.D. from UCLA. She now serves as an assistant adjunct professor at UCLA and is the author of Media Moms and Digital Dads: A Fact Not Fear Approach to Parenting in the Digital Age. She is also the proud daughter of Persian immigrants.
Dr. Uhls’s expertise on how media content is created, along with the science of how media affects children, informs her unique perspective and is her inspiration for creating CSS. She is a highly sought after guest speaker on a multitude of topics and frequently speaks about the importance of Authentically Inclusive Representation (AIR) and Gen Z’s relationship with mental health and media at events hosted by prominent organizations and companies. Research conducted by Dr. Uhls has been featured in The New York Times, Time Magazine, Good Morning America, USA Today, NPR and many others. In 2022, she was asked to join the NAACP Entertainment Advisory Council and she has been a member of YouTube’s kids and family council since its inception.