Techtonic with Mark Hurst is a weekly radio show from WFMU about technology, how it's affecting us, and what we can do about it.

Julie Scelfo, founder of Mothers Against Media Addiction (MAMA)

May 4, 2026

As Big Tech algorithms encourage kids and teens toward self-harm and suicide, Mothers Against Media Addiction is fighting back - raising awareness about the platforms' harms and advocating for stricter regulation. MAMA founder Julie Scelfo discusses her work.

Show Notes

(Source)
wearemama.org, MAMA’s website

Julie Scelfo’s bio

• PDF: MAMA’s House Rules checklist

• PDF: 8 Questions to Ask About AI in Schools

Fairplay: “the leading voice fighting to enhance children’s well-being by eliminating the exploitative and harmful business practices of marketers and Big Tech.”

Los Angeles becomes the first major school district to require screen time limits (NBC News, Apr 21, 2026)

AI Tutors For Kids Gave Fentanyl Recipes And Dangerous Diet Advice (Forbes, May 2025)

Techtonic interview with Meredith Broussard about "Artificial Unintelligence" (May 18, 2018)

Insurers owe no duty to defend Meta in social media suits (Business Insurance, May 2, 2026)

Age appropriate design code (Wikipedia)

Lessons from California’s SB 53 and New York’s RAISE Act (IAPP, Apr 29, 2026)

Doctor Becky (Kennedy) and Dr. Lisa Damour

Mark Zuckerberg could do more to stop online child sexual abuse, but he doesn’t (by Haley McNamara, Apr 28, 2026):
Instagram recommended 1.4 million potentially dangerous adults to teens in a single day. Meta had a 17-strikes policy before suspending accounts flagged for engaging in sex trafficking. Meta’s AI chatbot was intentionally built with guidelines permitting “romantic or sensual” conversations with minors. A child safety group report found that only 17 percent of Instagram’s safety features for teens actually worked.
How YouTube Took Over the American Classroom (gift link, WSJ, Apr 29, 2026): "Parents find their kids captive to the video streaming site on their school-issued devices; for one, it was 13,000 YouTube videos in three months."

What Will It Take to Get A.I. Out of Schools? (by Jessica Winter in the New Yorker, Apr 23, 2026)
Guest
Host
Comments
Playlist & Comments at WFMU
Aired
May 4, 2026