A Compelling Approach to Digital Literacy in Classrooms
My interview with the co-founders of Pixel Health
I met Pixel Health co-founder Solomon Scherban at a digital parenting event this past winter. Turns out Digital Mom and Pixel Health both credit Surgeon General Vivek Murthy’s Warning about the effects of social media on teen mental health last year as part of our origin stories. Read on to hear about the connection, how Pixel Health is helping students and get to know Solomon & Bryce. I really like what they’re doing.
Bryce Baker and Solomon Scherban, you are the co-founders of Pixel Health. Thank you for letting me interview you for Thoughts from a Digital Mom! Can you tell my readers a little about your backgrounds and why you are interested in digital health?
We both had a parent pass away when we were young. One way we both coped with that was spending countless hours scrolling.
Years later, as roommates in San Francisco we were talking about our experiences and realized neither of our therapists ever asked about our social media usage. Reflecting back, we found it odd that our therapists didn’t ask about something that kids spend ⅓ of their lives doing.
Fast forward to COVID, and our bad habits resurfaced. Meanwhile we found that almost anyone else we asked had some sort of issue with their relationship to technology, too. We started researching. We learned that usage not only affects sleep and interferes with work. We also saw that it correlates with mental health issues. It became clear to us that psychoeducation is crucial to solving this problem.
I recently covered the Taylor Swift Deep Fake story (read it here) in this newsletter. Can you share your POV on how parents might handle topics like this with kids?
The most important thing is to start the conversation. Parents might think they have to be experts in AI to even broach the subject of deep fakes with their kids, but coming from the position of “I’m learning too” can be equally if not more powerful. “Have you ever seen images or videos online that look real but aren’t” can be enough to get the ball rolling.
Kids need help understanding that what they see online isn’t always real, even if it looks real. The most dangerous aspect of deep fakes is how easily they can fool us. One powerful way to foster this idea is to have kids play with a tool like DALL-E so they can see how easy it is to create images.
You shared a statistic with me - a recent Stanford study showed that 96% of students lack the skills to assess information credibly. Is this something Pixel Health can help with?
Yes. Pixel Health reshapes the way children interact with social media overall by empowering schools, kids, policymakers, and parents with the tools to enact change. And one of our core pillars is helping kids understand the rise of misinformation and how to combat it.
We specifically address misinformation, guiding kids through an exploration of its definition and the diverse motivations that drive individuals to disseminate deceptive content.
Pixel Health teaches the practical tools to discern between real and fake content online. For example, one of the lessons is about the importance of understanding reliable site domains, arming individuals with the knowledge to make informed judgments about the trustworthiness of online sources. A common misconception is that “.ORG” is reliable - the truth is that it can be purchased just like a “.COM”.
Yikes, I didn’t know that!
What else should we be worrying about? Or are you worrying about?
Similar to you, we felt called to action after hearing, U.S. Surgeon General, Dr. Vivek Murthy 2023 public health advisory in which he states, “we are in the middle of a national youth mental health crisis, and I am concerned that social media is an important driver of that crisis – one that we must urgently address.”
The US, in many ways, is late to addressing addictive media use. In China, the government has regulated media use in many ways, for example, forbidding children from playing video games for more than three hours a week, deeming them "spiritual opium." In South Korea, the government conducts surveys around Internet addiction, with one recent survey “finding that almost 20% of the population (10 million people) are at serious risk.”
There is a NOMO/FOMO Catch-22. We know from the data that most social media users would actually prefer that no one, including themselves, has social media; but, if others have it, they would prefer to have it so they don’t miss out on the conversation. This Catch-22 makes the challenge a collective action issue, where it isn’t solved until change ripples through an entire community.
There are also many long term effects of these new technologies that aren’t yet known. For example research, though not yet conclusive shows consuming this type of media can impact memory: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8393543/.
There is certainly plenty to worry about. But also many reasons for optimism, I think. Are there any unexpected benefits of your product?
You often talk about adults modeling good behavior with social media and technology in this newsletter— and we have seen our product help with this.
One teacher shared that after learning with Pixel Health, their 7th grade students, many of whom have parents who exhibit problematic media use, actually went home and talked to their parents about spending quality time rather than worrying about what they are posting. We’re really proud that our program helped kids start that important conversation at home.
What inspires you?
We’re inspired to create a better world for our nieces and nephews. As uncles, who’ve experienced negative effects from social media firsthand, we know that there’s a better path forward, and want them— and all kids— to be critical thinkers as they consume digital media.
Given your stories, what are your relationships with social media like now? What platforms do you use? What sorts of content do you consume or interact with?
There’s an idea called the Goldilocks Effect - just like in the story with the three bears, there’s an amount of social media that’s just right:
University of Oxford, Przybylski & Weinstein (2017)
We both really try to limit our use to keeping in touch with friends and family and sharing things - using social media as a tool. If you have a specific purpose in mind before using social media, it’s probably a good sign that you’re doing something beneficial (ex: messaging a friend).
And we really focus on holding ourselves accountable. It can be hard to make change alone. Having people in your life who support you who will hold you accountable whether it’s family or friends has been extremely helpful.
During the week, we delete our social media from our phones to lessen the temptation and increase the barrier for improper usage.
We try to avoid the following types of behavior
Parasocial behavior: living vicariously through others, as it impedes personal growth
Endless scroll / doom scrolling
What else do you want to share with parents ?
We’ve already touched on this but modeling behavior is key - the research backs this up. This means that if your child sees you using your phone at dinner, they will likely do the same. This isn’t an issue you should ignore and assume will get better. Creating an open dialogue around media use is the best way to create resilient kids.
Also, teaching these concepts really does work! Follow up results from Pixel Health students who have gone through the program show that most of them (76%) have been using what they learn in their daily lives, and data shows cohort reduction in screen time and associated negative effects.
What are good resources for parents who want to learn more?
We send out current research, tips, and news to our parent mailing list. We’d love to have you join us here: https://www.pixelhealth.io/parents
Jonathan Haidt’s research guide is long, but has pretty much everything.
More about Pixel Health
Its a school-based program that covers a wide range of topics whose goal is to teach kids how to protect their mental and physical health in the face of rapidly-evolving technologies - chief among them social media.
We have plans tailored for grades 3-12 that consist of lessons and assessments, all of which we developed in concert with researchers, educators, and psychologists.
Get in Touch with Pixel Health
Reach out to solomon@pixelhealth.io at any time! We frequently speak to parent groups that want to enact change. It’s also really helpful to contact your school or district directly as well - parent advocacy is key to awareness about this issue! You can mention to them that you’re interested in Pixel Health, let our team know, and we can contact them directly.