I Took the LIRR to Long Island — and the Conversations Were Everything
A recap of the Digital Media Literacy workshop at Lakeview Public Library in partnership with the NAACP Lakeview Youth Council — and what happened when teens, parents, and staff got real about their phones.
I hopped on the LIRR and headed to Lakeview, and from the moment I walked into the library I could feel that this was exactly the kind of community space this work was made for.
The Lakeview Public Library Teen Space is a beautiful, welcoming room — the kind of place where young people actually want to spend time. Art on the walls. Comfortable seating. A space that feels safe in the truest sense of the word. And that energy set the tone for everything that followed.
Who Was in the Room
This workshop brought together exactly the mix of people this conversation needs — teens, parents, and staff all in the same space. That combination matters. When a teenager hears their parent react to something about screen time or advertising, it lands differently. When parents hear their kids describe their own digital habits out loud, something shifts.
That cross-generational dynamic made every conversation richer.
What We Talked About
Digital Addiction
An honest look at how platforms are designed to keep you scrolling — and what that actually does to your attention and time.
How Algorithms Work
Why your feed isn’t random, what it’s based on, and who benefits when you keep watching.
AI Conversations
What AI actually is, how it shows up in the tools teens are already using, and how to think about it critically.
Targeted Advertising
How Facebook and other platforms use your behavior to serve you eerily specific ads — and why that’s not a coincidence.
The Moment That Stood Out
The advertising conversation hit differently. When I explained how Facebook advertising works — that the platform isn’t guessing, it’s using your specific behaviors, clicks, pauses, and searches to target you with precision — you could see the recognition on faces around the room. Parents and teens alike. The reaction wasn’t shock. It was something more like: “I knew something was going on, but I didn’t know it was that specific.”
That’s the moment I work toward in every workshop. Not fear — awareness. Once people understand the mechanism, they stop feeling like the algorithm is some mysterious force and start seeing it for what it is: a system designed to serve someone else’s business model using their attention as currency.
My goal was to make the teens aware of what was actually happening on their phones.
That goal was achieved.
The Screen Time Conversation
One of the most candid moments of the evening was when we talked about actual screen time numbers. Not estimates — real numbers. I asked everyone in the room to think about how much time they actually spend on their devices each day.
The silence before the answers was telling. Most people know the number is higher than they’d like. What the workshop gave them was language for why — and a framework for thinking about what they want to do about it.
- An understanding of how platforms engineer addiction into their design
- Clarity on how behavioral data is collected and used for targeted advertising
- Practical tools for curating their feeds intentionally
- A foundation for thinking critically about AI tools they’re already using
- The awareness that conscious engagement starts with understanding the system
Why This Work Matters Beyond the Classroom
Principals and school leaders often ask me why digital literacy education needs to happen in community spaces too — not just schools. This workshop is the answer.
When a teenager goes home after learning about algorithms in school, who do they talk to about it? If the adults in their lives haven’t had the same conversation, the understanding stops at the school door. Community workshops like this one close that loop. Parents and teens in the same room, having the same conversation, building a shared language for navigating the digital world together.
That’s what makes the impact last.
A school policy about phones is a band-aid.
A community that understands how these systems work — that’s the treatment.
What Comes Next
I am genuinely looking forward to more events with the NAACP Lakeview Youth Council and communities like this one across Long Island and beyond. The conversations in that room confirmed what I already believed: families want this. They’re ready for it. They just need someone to start the conversation.
If you’re a school leader, community organization, or library looking to bring this workshop to your community — this is exactly what the program is built for.
Bring This Workshop to Your School
Digital literacy programs for high school, middle school, parents, and staff — built for NYC and Long Island communities.
See the Curriculum →Book a Workshop
Ready to bring this conversation to your building or community? Let’s make it happen.
Book a Workshop →Thank you to the NAACP Lakeview Youth Council
and Lakeview Public Library for having me. 🧡
More to come.