September 2026: A Family Guide for Setting Healthy Tech Boundaries
Culture Reframed is the premier science-based, global organization working to stop the emotional, behavioral, and sexual harms of pornography to children and youth. Join our online community to receive updates on our work, announcements of upcoming events, and the latest news related to pornography and youth.
With a new school year underway, parents and caregivers are navigating not only new schedules but also the technology and content shaping young people’s development in the classroom and beyond.
Confronting this can feel overwhelming, but we are not powerless. Around the globe, parents, educators, researchers, and child advocates are asking important questions about how emerging technologies are affecting young people, and working to find solutions that put young people’s safety and well-being first.
In this issue, we’re sharing resources to help you do the same. Our new back-to-school guide offers practical ways to support young peoples’ online safety, while our free Family Tech Contract provides a starting point for setting shared expectations around technology. We also take a closer, critical look at the violence embedded in mainstream pornography and what this means for the young people growing up in this environment.
We hope these resources help you feel informed and empowered to have open, honest conversations with the young people in your life.
— Dr. Gail Dines
Founder & CEO, Culture Reframed
Pornography’s Violence Problem Is Hiding in Plain Sight
Pornography is not a niche corner of the internet. Tens of thousands of platforms are freely accessible, often without registration or age verification—and millions of young people encounter this content.
A new Culture Reframed report, Pornography and Men’s Violence Against Women and Children: From Production to Consumption, examines what that content actually contains. Drawing on peer-reviewed research and original analysis of pornographic platforms, the report finds that violence against women is not an extreme subcategory of pornography—it is mainstream. The findings have serious implications for parents, educators, coaches, counselors, and anyone working to support young people.
Free Resource: Family Tech Contract
We created this free resource to help families set shared expectations around technology use and foster open communication, healthy boundaries, independence, and safety in a connected world. From screen time and digital citizenship to privacy, safety, and reporting concerns, this agreement gives the whole family a shared framework for navigating technology together.
Hear From Gail
Why Blaming Sydney Sweeney Misses the Point
In Ms. Magazine, Dr. Gail Dines shares her perspective on the recent sports trading ad campaign featuring Sydney Sweeney that has sparked public discussion. She explains how backlash to the ads obscures the media and porn industries that profit from sexualizing women, manufacturing insecurity, and narrowing the choices available to women in the public eye.
Upcoming Events
New York State Children’s Alliance Leadership Conference
October 27–28 | Saratoga Springs, NY
Multidisciplinary team members and child advocacy professionals come together at this conference to connect, learn, and strengthen their work supporting children and families. Mandy will deliver the keynote presentation, “Growing up in a Porn Culture: The Social, Emotional, & Cognitive Effects & A Public Health Solution.”
JuST Conference
October 27–29 | Washington, DC
This conference provides practical knowledge and actionable responses to raise awareness and ultimately end juvenile sex trafficking (JuST) in local communities. Gail will present one of our new talks, “OnlyFans: Where Social Media and Pornography Meet Trafficking.”
What Others Are Saying
AI Is Working Its Way Into Everything. Can School Districts Really Ban It? (EdWeek)
Growing out of parents’ concerns over ed-tech use in schools, New York City and Los Angeles—the two largest school districts in the country—each announced that they are banning student use of generative artificial intelligence. Read more.
Don’t Let AI Become the New Sex Educator for Adolescents (Ms. Magazine)
Young Black girls are particularly targeted by the biases of AI, culminating in even more ostracized groups of women remaining undereducated about their bodies. Read more.
Meta to Pay up to $17.1 Billion in Landmark Settlement Over Social Media Addiction Claims (NY Times)
The social media giant settled with 47 states, the District of Columbia, and U.S. territories, and agreed to make major changes to its products over claims its platforms endangered children. Read more.
A 16-Year-Old Girl Has Died From Suspected Sexual Choking. How Do We Come to Terms With This? (The Guardian)
We can no longer deny that many children get their sex education from online pornography. But the normalization of violence can lead to tragedy. Read more.
This Olympian Battled Porn Addiction for Years. He Now Wants to Help Others Suffering in Silence (CNN)
Competitive diver Freddie Woodward uses his platform to speak about his experience with porn use, including how it affects athletes and distracts young people from their hobbies and ambitions. Read more.
