Kara Alaimo is a professor of communication at Fairleigh Dickinson University and advises parents, students and teachers on how to manage screen time. Her book “Over the Influence: Why Social Media Is Toxic for Women and Girls — And How We Can Take It Back” was published in 2024.

Ever wonder why your kid goes ballistic when you try to take their screen away? It’s mostly not their fault. That outsize reaction occurs because devices are designed to make us all desire them so badly that we don’t log off, writes Dr. Michaeleen Doucleff in her new book, “ Dopamine Kids : A Science-Based Plan to Rewire Your Child’s Brain and Take Back Your Family in the Age of Screens and Ultraprocessed Foods.” So many parents tell me it’s impossible to meaningfully limit their kids’ technology use, but despite tech’s addictive qualities, it turns out that’s just not true .