Iowa

Tracking your kid’s social media can be overwhelming. An Iowa expert has these suggestions

Published

2 years ago

March 12, 2024

Tracking your kid’s social media can be overwhelming. An Iowa expert has these suggestions

In this day in age, the majority of people are on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook or YouTube — even if they might not be adults yet. Attempting to manage a child’s use of whatever other app is trending can be overwhelming for parents, so much so that the majority of Iowans support state legislation that would limit children’s access to social media.

A proposed bill intended to create more oversight on children’s internet use for parents and guardians passed the Iowa House on March 6. House File 2523 bans anyone under 18 years old from making an account on social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook and TikTok without permission from a guardian or parent.

It also allows the Iowa attorney general and users to sue social media companies for violating parent authorization rules.

🔎 What are kids seeing on social media?

A recent Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa Poll found that more than half of Iowans favor the bill, with 42% of Iowans opposed to it.

Here are some tips for parents on how to manage kids’ time on the internet.

Is government oversight for children’s use of social media effective?

It can be. State involvement to limit minors’ access to social media is an effective tool to improve internet oversight for children, said Rachel Young associate professor at the University of Iowa School. The implementation of laws that protect children online in other countries has proven effective, Young said.

“Parents have been given this really pretty impossible task of managing digital media,” Young said, who studies how adolescents and parents manage digital media use. “So it makes a lot of sense to me why we’re seeing a call from parents for help from legislation that would more effectively keep younger kids off social media.”

What are the dangers of social media for children?

Social media companies use algorithms to determine what people want to see based on searches and likes. This can become dangerous for people and children if something like self-harm is searched.

“If a kid shows some interest in a video talking about self-harm, the TikTok algorithm, or whatever social media platform, will very quickly notice that,” Young said. “Then you might get a lot of content about self-harm. So you are very quickly in a media environment where you are surrounded by those types of messages.”

What makes monitoring child social media use so difficult?

The sheer volume of content children now have access to on social media makes it hard for parents to monitor. Not everything on the internet is bad either, which makes it hard for parents to decipher limits, Young said.

“It is hard to distinguish between the uses that we want to allow and the uses that we don’t,” Young said.

What is the best way to monitor social media use for children?

Talking to children about social media at an early age can help establish boundaries, Young said. The most effective strategy to limiting social media is when kids have a model for having conversations with parents about what they see online. Research shows parents have an easier time setting effective limits if there has been conversations about social media in advance, Young said.

“If you already have the type of relationship where kids feel open to discussing what they have encountered online, then that will help in setting rules and limits that a kid is more likely to understand,” Young said. “Hopefully those limits will be more effective.”

How effective are limits created by social media companies?

Most social media apps have age restrictions when making an account. To access Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Twitter, users must be at least 13 years old. But as we all know, it only takes some simple math for kids to adjust their age to meet the age requirement.

“Kids have a lot of motivation to use social media because it’s where everyone they know is already using it for important conversations,” Young said. “So it is not difficult at all for kids to get around age limits set by any social media platform.”

What tools are there to set limits on social media?

Some smartphones allow parents to set time limits on a child’s phone or how long they are on a certain app. This can be an effective step for improving internet oversight for children.

“If your phone is connected to your child’s phone in a family group, then you can have oversight over a lot of how that phone is being used,” Young said.

Limits can help, but Young believes they should be accompanied by a conversation.

“Kids are really good at finding out ways to get around any limits that parents might set, and they are often very knowledgeable about technology,” Young said. “If those limits are set in a way that involves the kids and an understanding of why they are important, they might not like it but that would lead to a better outcome than a limit that is set like a my way or the highway limit.”

Kate Kealey is a general assignment reporter for the Register. Reach her at kkealey@registermedia.com or follow her on Twitter at @Kkealey17.

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Iowa

USC survived a dogfight vs. Iowa — now the biggest test of Lincoln Riley’s tenure awaits

Published

12 hours ago

November 15, 2025

Press Room

USC survived a dogfight vs. Iowa — now the biggest test of Lincoln Riley’s tenure awaits

LOS ANGELES — As Lincoln Riley walked toward the Coliseum tunnel following USC’s gritty, 26-21 comeback win against 21st-ranked Iowa, he shared an animated embrace with Trojans offensive coordinator Luke Huard.

Riley was more fired up than usual, and understandably so. The Trojans’ physicality and toughness have been questioned ever since he took the job four years ago.

And after USC fell behind by 14 points in the first half — tied for its largest deficit of the season — it demonstrated the sort of toughness and resilience it’s often lacked during Riley’s tenure. The Trojans got off the mat after the Hawkeyes knocked them down in the first half and scored the game’s final 19 points.

fire us up coach 😤‼️ pic.twitter.com/qtLnYt8oyk
— USC Football ✌️ (@uscfb) November 16, 2025
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“Culture win right there, man, if there ever was one,” Riley said.

Now that USC (8-2, 6-1 Big Ten) survived that dogfight, all that awaits is one of the biggest games of Riley’s tenure when USC travels to eighth-ranked Oregon next week. Win and a trip to the College Football Playoff seems likely — in the 80 percent range, according to Austin Mock’s model. Lose, and the season could still be viewed as a positive step forward, if USC finishes 9-3, but that would be four years under Riley without a Playoff appearance.

On Saturday, USC narrowly defeated the same Iowa team that Oregon barely beat the week before. But the Trojans will likely enter next week’s matchup in Eugene — a place where they haven’t won since 2011 — as a considerable underdog.

On Saturday afternoon, the concerns were all on display in the first half. They resided where they usually do under Riley: on defense.

Even though rain was falling throughout the afternoon in the Coliseum, Iowa still felt confident enough to attack USC’s secondary down the field, and it had success early on. That’s with an offense that ranked 133rd nationally in passing yards per game.

Iowa had a good amount of success on the ground, too, finishing with 183 rushing yards and on a 5.5-yard average.

A team like Oregon, balanced on offense, figures to stress USC’s defense in much more significant fashion next weekend.

But give credit to the defense and coordinator D’Anton Lynn for the second-half play. The Trojans shut out Iowa over the final two quarters and have given up just six second-half points over the past three weeks.

It also did that without safeties Kamari Ramsey and Bishop Fitzgerald, who were banged up during the game.

“We just keep coming and we have all year,” Riley said. “That was a big, big time win. Team win. To come back and get that done was a really cool feeling.”

While the defense did its part, the Trojans won this game largely because they have two of the best wide receivers in the country in Makai Lemon and Ja’Kobi Lane, a pair that applies a ton of pressure on opposing defenses. It’s also the reason this team has a puncher’s chance in every game it plays.

Iowa’s defense is great and entered the game ranked sixth nationally in scoring (13.7 ppg) and seventh in yards per play allowed (4.3). That’s impressive, but Lemon and Lane rendered those stats meaningless.

Lemon had receptions of 12, 24, 26 and 35 yards in the second half and caught a third-quarter touchdown. Lane had receptions of 10, 12 and 14 yards in the third quarter and drew a 15-yard pass interference penalty in the fourth.

Iowa’s defense didn’t even play that poorly. The Hawkeyes defensive backs were in good position a majority of the time. Lane and Lemon were just better, and that’s what spearheaded the comeback.

Makai Lemon isn’t the biggest dude. Catch radius is pretty small. But if it’s in the radius, it’s his. That matters, too
Kid’s a stud pic.twitter.com/DsxO3IDwgw
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— Trevor Sikkema (@TampaBayTre) November 15, 2025

Lemon finished with 10 receptions (on 11 targets) for 153 yards and a touchdown. Lane had seven for 65 yards. Quarterback Jayden Maiava completed 23 of 32 pass attempts for 254 yards and one touchdown. Most importantly, he protected the football, which will be key against Oregon. USC has committed costly turnovers in its two losses (at Illinois and at Notre Dame) this season.

Running back King Miller added 83 yards on the ground. And there was some good news on the injury front. Waymond Jordan, the team’s No. 1 back, didn’t play but was listed as questionable — a sign of progress after he missed the previous three games with an ankle injury sustained against Michigan.

The status of left tackle Elijah Paige, who left the game in the first half with an undisclosed injury, will be worth monitoring this week. USC’s offensive line was fine in his absence, but Oregon’s defensive front will pose a very difficult challenge.

Next week will be the biggest game USC has played since the 2022 Pac-12 title game in Riley’s first season. That was a Trojan team that overachieved after a 4-8 season the year before. Even though USC lost to Utah in Las Vegas that night, it felt as though the program would have more chances to reach the Playoff in the coming years.

Two massively underwhelming seasons followed and showed just how difficult it might be for USC to get over that hump.

The stakes next week couldn’t be higher. It’s a chance for Riley to make a statement after losing some of his shine the past few years.

Linebacker Eric Gentry is one of the few holdovers from that 2022 team that fell just short of a Playoff trip.

“It’s a one-week season,” Gentry said after beating Iowa. “So it’s win or go home right now, and there (isn’t) a go home. We’ve got to win. I think the whole team is understanding of what the culture is. Just fight to the last second, not in denial or feel like something bad is going to happen. Coach (Riley) said: ‘Don’t hope for (anything). Make it happen.’”

The odds will be against USC next week in Autzen Stadium. But these are the games Riley was brought to Los Angeles to win. Now it’s up to him and the Trojans to finally make it happen.

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Iowa

Iowa soccer shuts out South Dakota St. to advance in NCAA Tournament

Published

1 day ago

November 15, 2025

Press Room

Iowa soccer shuts out South Dakota St. to advance in NCAA Tournament

IOWA CITY, Iowa (KCRG) – Iowa women’s soccer grabbed a, 1-0 win over South Dakota State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

Kenzie Roling scored the game’s only goal in the first half.

Fernanda Mayrink came up big in goal for the Hawkeyes. She saved a penalty kick in the second half that would have tied it.

Up next, Iowa will take on LSU in the second round on November 20th.

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Iowa

Well Known & Highly Respected Businessman From Spencer & Iowa Great Lakes Passes Away – Explore Okoboji

Published

2 days ago

November 14, 2025

Press Room

(Spencer)– A well known and highly respected businessman in Spencer and the Iowa Great Lakes Area has passed away.

Toby Shine joined Shine Brothers full time in 1960. He later went on to start up a wire cutting and auto shredding business in Spencer in the mid 1980’s, serving as owner and President of the company. Shine was also very active in the Spencer and Iowa Great Lakes communities. He developed the Pelican Ridge housing development on the east side of Arnolds Park and later went on to build and operate a vintage car restoration business and museum just off Highway 86 in West Okoboji. Shine was also known for his involvement in philanthropy and played a major role with the Iowa Lakes Corridor Development Corporation’s Okoboji Entrepreneurial Institute.

Funeral arrangements for Toby Shine are pending with Warner Funeral Home in Spencer.

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