Talk

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

May 2026 🇺🇸 WFMU (Techtonic with Mark Hurst)

Suicide and self-harm are complex and never caused by one factor alone. Problematic screen use, cyberbullying, harmful content, and online exploitation may increase risk or intensify existing distress. If someone is in immediate danger or emotional crisis in the United States, call or text 988.

Outside the U.S.? Find your local helpline at findahelpline.com.

In this interview on WFMU's Techtonic with Mark Hurst, Julie Scelfo discusses MAMA's advocacy against platform design choices she characterizes as associated with directing children and teens toward harmful content, including material connected to self-harm. She cites reported data on Instagram's recommendation systems surfacing large numbers of flagged adult accounts to teen users as an example, and discusses newer concerns her organization is tracking, including AI chatbots marketed to or accessible by minors and schools' growing reliance on platforms like YouTube for instruction. The conversation also covers MAMA's practical tools, including a parent-facing 'House Rules' checklist, and touches on emerging state and local policy efforts such as Los Angeles-area school screen-time limits.

~1.4 million adult accounts recommended to teens in one day, per data cited on-air

Scelfo cited reporting that Instagram's recommendation systems surfaced roughly 1.4 million adult accounts flagged as potentially inappropriate to teenage users in a single day, offering it as an example of platform design she argues needs outside regulatory oversight rather than voluntary fixes.

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CITATION

Hurst, Mark, host. "Julie Scelfo, Founder of Mothers Against Media Addiction (MAMA)." Techtonic, WFMU, May 4, 2026. https://techtonic.fm/episodes/2026-05-04-julie-scelfo-founder-of-mothers-against-media-addiction-mama/

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