New Data Exposes the School Tech Crisis (with Titania Jordan)

New Data Exposes the School Tech Crisis (with Titania Jordan)

When schools hand children Chromebooks, iPads, Google accounts, and Microsoft Teams access, what’s really happening behind the screen? In this eye-opening conversation, Titania Jordan joins Nicki Petrossi to reveal alarming new data from Bark Technologies’s monitoring of school-issued technology used by millions of students across the U.S. The findings are staggering: * 12% of children encountered cyberbullying  * 3.74% encountered instances of depression * 7.46% encountered discussion or content related to suicidal ideation, imminent suicide or self-harm * 39.83% of students encountered violent content * 22% were exposed to drug-related content * 10.77% encountered sexual content * 11.64% encountered medically-concerning content * 2.69% encountered hate speech * 0.23% encountered body image content * 1.79% encountered anxiety-related content They discuss how students are using Google Docs like disappearing-message apps, why schools are struggling to keep up, and what parents can do right now to better protect their children. This episode is a wake-up call for parents, educators, school administrators, and policymakers about the unintended consequences of putting addictive, poorly protected technology into children’s hands. Get Bark for Schools  [https://www.bark.us/learn/k-12/](for free!) Get the Bark Phone [https://info.bark.us/scrolling2deathbp] Parents Templates and Resources at Tech-Safe Learning [https://www.techsafelearning.org/]

The Heat is On...Big Tech on Trial: Beyond the Headlines (with Kaley’s lead attorney Mark Lanier)

Legendary trial attorney Mark Lanier joins Nicki and Sarah for an emotional, behind-the-scenes look at the landmark social media addiction trial that ended in a jury verdict against Meta and YouTube. For nearly two months, we sat inside the Los Angeles courtroom documenting every moment — filling 589 pages of notes as grieving parents, advocates, reporters, jurors, and teams of attorneys battled over one central question: did these platforms knowingly build products that addict children, like Kaley? In this deeply personal interview, Mark breaks down exactly how the case was won, why Snapchat and TikTok settled just before trial, and what the jury ultimately decided about Kaley, the young woman at the center of the case. He also reveals shocking moments the public never saw — defense witnesses backing out, chaos inside the courthouse, the strategy behind avoiding a billion-dollar “runaway verdict,” and the cross-examinations that changed everything. The episode also revisits some of the most unforgettable lines from the trial, responding directly to claims made in court by executives and attorneys from Meta and YouTube. But this conversation is bigger than one verdict. It’s about children, addiction, grief, corporate power, and the parents fighting back against trillion-dollar tech companies. Mark shares what he believes this case means for the future of Big Tech accountability, why he calls it a defining trial of the 21st century, and the message he hopes families around the world take away from Kaley's story. The episode closes with a powerful discussion about parenting, love, and why human connection may be the strongest defense families have against platforms designed to exploit vulnerability. If you followed this trial in real time — or if you’re just beginning to understand what these platforms are doing to children — this is an episode you won’t forget. Here's a link [https://drive.google.com/file/d/1WNg6M2HQAiVYQDsG-77BGEn3ZADK74As/view?usp=sharing] to the actual verdict forms that the jury completed. Video Editing expertly provided by Jacob Meade [https://www.jacobjmeade.com/].

The Canvas Breach: 275 Million People at Risk (with attorney Andy Liddell)

When parents log into Canvas, they expect homework assignments and grades — not ransom notes. In this urgent episode, I spoke with attorney Andrew Liddell about the massive alleged breach involving Instructure and its learning management platform, Canvas, reportedly affecting thousands of schools and millions of students, teachers, and college faculty worldwide. Here's a full list of the 8,000+ schools which were affected [https://web.archive.org/web/20260507042014/http://91.215.85.103/pay_or_leak/instructure_affected_schools_list.txt]. Andy breaks down: * What Canvas is and why it’s used in so many schools * How enormous amounts of student data are collected and shared * What allegedly happened in the breach * Why hackers targeted this information * What exposed school data could mean for families long-term * Why schools are becoming “soft targets” for cyberattacks * What parents should do right now if their child’s school uses Canvas The conversation also goes beyond this single breach and explores a larger question: Have schools quietly normalized mass surveillance of children through EdTech? Andy explains why privacy isn’t just about secrecy — it’s about childhood itself. “Privacy is the soil in which we grow.” This episode is essential listening for parents, teachers, school administrators, and anyone concerned about the growing role of Big Tech in education. Contact Andy's team at edtech.law [https://edtech.law/] to find out more about this lawsuit and others. Here's a direct link [https://edtech.law/cases/instructure-data-privacy-litigation/] to their lawsuit against Instructure.

This Isn't a Parenting Problem (with Glen Pounder of Scouting America)

When kids are harmed online, the first question people ask is: “Where were the parents?” In this episode of Scrolling 2 Death, we challenge that instinct—and expose why it is doing more harm than good. Scrolling 2 Death host Nicki Petrossi is joined by Glen Pounder, Executive Vice President and Chief Safeguarding Officer at Scouting America, to unpack one of the most persistent myths in child safety: that better parenting can prevent online harm. Drawing from his 30-year career combating crimes against children—and his recent article “The Comfort of Blame – and the Limits of Even the Best Parenting [https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/comfort-blameand-limits-even-best-parenting-glen-pounder-llm--vrs8c/?trackingId=c1ElDgQWFIsuXV9bOuQ1hw]”—Glen shares what he’s seen firsthand: families who did everything right… and still had children targeted, groomed, and exploited online. This conversation goes beyond surface-level advice and into the uncomfortable truth: * Why parent blame is so appealing—and so dangerous * How exploitation actually happens, even in attentive households * The hidden cost of shame, silence, and misplaced responsibility * And why this is not a parenting failure—it’s a systems failure In the wake of major legal battles involving Meta and YouTube, this episode asks a harder question: Who really benefits when we keep blaming parents instead of holding platforms accountable? Because while families are being told to “do more,” tech companies continue to design environments that make harm easier—and harder to detect. If we want to actually protect kids, we have to move beyond blame… and start demanding better systems. #MyFriendToo Resource for Youth [https://www.myfriendtoous.org/]

Does i-Ready Work? A Neuroscientist Weighs In (with Dr. Jared Cooney-Horvath)

In this eye-opening conversation, Nicki Petrossi sits down with neuroscientist Jared Cooney-Horvath to unpack the claims behind i-Ready—one of the most widely used EdTech tools in U.S. classrooms. What starts as a discussion of Nicki’s data privacy lawsuit quickly expands into a deeper investigation: does i-Ready actually help kids learn? Jared breaks down the startling lack of credible, peer-reviewed research supporting i-Ready’s effectiveness, explaining how most claims rely on weak comparisons or company-backed studies. He reveals why “time on task” can be misleading, how EdTech companies shape persuasive narratives without solid evidence, and why human-led instruction consistently outperforms digital tools when it comes to real learning. Together, they connect the dots between data privacy concerns and academic outcomes—arguing that if a product isn’t meaningfully improving learning, schools must question why it’s being used at all. The episode also explores the growing national momentum among parents, teachers, and districts pushing back on excessive screen time and demanding accountability from EdTech companies. If you’ve ever wondered what’s really behind the tools your child is required to use in school, this conversation gives you the data—and the questions—you need to start pushing for answers. Jared's Substack: i-Ready: 13 Million Students, Zero Meaningful Evidence [https://thedigitaldelusion.substack.com/p/i-ready-13-million-students-zero] Parent-Teacher i-Ready Resource [https://docs.google.com/document/d/1OFVExVrUN02uY-Ejx6Tm8KbIM1EK9Xw7jI7epybijyM/edit?usp=share_link]