Slaying Digital Dragons: Tips and Tools for Protecting Your Body, Brain, Psyche, and Thumbs from the Digital Dark Side

Empower teens to take charge of their digital lives.

Without avoiding the dark side of technology, this interactive and comprehensive reference book empowers teens to take charge of their digital life and improve their mental health and well-being. Quizzes and exercises guide readers through the process of evaluating their relationships with their screens, social media, and tech in general.

With a frank and humorous approach to a timely topic, award-winning author Alex J. Packer, Ph.D., pulls back the curtain on the hidden aspects of the digital world and shares:

• Signs that screen time is affecting teens’ bodies, brains, and relationships
• Tips for protecting their privacy, safety, and reputation
• Ways social media and algorithms can distort their reality and sense of self
• Tools for finding life balance and resetting their screen scene

Slaying Digital Dragons is a call to action to make the choices that are right for teens. It doesn’t demand ditching smartphones or deactivating social media. Instead, it suggests strategies for playing favorite games and posting on favorite apps, while also doing good in the world and bringing joy and encouragement to others. It invites readers to join the resistance and learn how to thwart the manipulative forces trying to control and profit off their users. And it gives teens what they need to stay safe and take charge of their digital life.

For more must-have advice from Alex J. Packer, Ph.D., check out How Rude: The Teen Guide to Good Manners, Proper Behavior, and Not Grossing People Out (Revised & Updated Edition).

Alex J. Packer, Ph.D., is an educator, psychologist, and award-winning author of numerous books for parents and teenagers including How Rude! The Teen Guide to Good Manners, Proper Behavior, and Not Grossing People Out. Alex is sought after by the media for his provocative commentary on manners, child-rearing, and substance abuse prevention, and has led workshops and lectured widely across the United States and around the world. He received his Ph.D. in educational and developmental psychology from Boston College and his master’s degree in education from Harvard.