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

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


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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.

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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.

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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.”

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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.

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“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.”

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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 State undrafted free agents tracker: Cyclones who signed after 2024 NFL Draft

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Iowa State undrafted free agents tracker: Cyclones who signed after 2024 NFL Draft


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The 2024 NFL Draft is over, and Iowa State football had one player selected in the three-day, seven-round event.

Cyclones star cornerback T.J. Tampa went to the Baltimore Ravens in the fourth round, but none of his teammates were chosen. It was a light draft class for ISU, but that doesn’t mean the team’s eligible players won’t end up on an NFL roster.

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Undrafted free agents (UDFAs) are now eligible to sign with organizations, so follow along below to see if any Cyclones draw interest.

Iowa State Cyclones undrafted free agents

Check back here to see if any Cyclones sign with NFL Teams as UDFA’s.

Iowa State Cyclones NFL Draft picks 2024

  • Round 4, Pick 130: T.J. Tampa, CB, Baltimore Ravens

Gus Martin is a Digital Producer/Content Director for The Des Moines Register. Follow him on X at @GusMartin_DMR.





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Residents begin going through the rubble after tornadoes hammer parts of Nebraska and Iowa

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Residents begin going through the rubble after tornadoes hammer parts of Nebraska and Iowa


OMAHA, Neb. — Residents began sifting through the rubble Saturday after a tornado plowed through suburban Omaha, Nebraska, demolishing homes and businesses as it moved for miles through farmland and into subdivisions.

People gathered in the streets in the Elkhorn area of Omaha amid the scattered remains of the homes and Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen planned to tour the area then hold a news conference later Saturday in Omaha.

The Friday night tornadoes wreaked havoc in the Midwest, causing a building to collapse with dozens of people inside and destroying and damaging hundreds of homes.

There have been several reports of injuries but no fatalities reported.

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Three people were hurt in Nebraska’s Lancaster County when a tornado hit an industrial building, causing it to collapse with 70 people inside. Several were trapped, but everyone was evacuated and the injuries were not life-threatening, authorities said.

One of the most destructive tornadoes moved for miles Friday through mostly rural farmland before chewing up homes and other structures in the suburbs of Omaha, a city of 485,000 people with a metropolitan area population of about 1 million.

Photos on social media also showed heavy damage in the small town of Minden, Iowa, about 30 miles northeast of Omaha.

Jeff Theulen, chief deputy of the Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office, said at a late Friday briefing that 40 to 50 homes had been completely destroyed. Two injuries were reported but none were life-threatening.

School buses have been brought in to give residents a ride out of town if they need one, he said. He asked others to stay away as it’s a very dangerous area with power lines down and piles of debris where homes used to be.

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“It’s heartbreaking to see these people who have lost houses, cars, essentially their life until they have to rebuild it,” he said.

The forecast for Saturday was ominous. The National Weather Service issued tornado watches early Saturday for northwestern Texas and across western Oklahoma.

“Tornadoes, perhaps significant tornadoes,” were possible Saturday afternoon and evening, said weather service meteorologist Bruce Thoren in Norman, Okla.

The threat of tornadoes extended into parts of Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska and Arkansas. Forecasters warned that large hail and strong wind gusts were also possible.

Hundreds of houses were damaged in Omaha on Friday, mostly in the Elkhorn area in the western part of the city, Omaha police Lt. Neal Bonacci said and police and firefighters went door-to-door to help people.

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In one area of Elkhorn, dozens of newly built, large homes were damaged. At least six were wrecked, including one that was leveled, while others had their top halves ripped off. Dozens of emergency vehicles responded to the area.

“We watched it touch down like 200 yards over there and then we took shelter,” said Pat Woods, who lives in Elkhorn. “We could hear it coming through. When we came up, our fence was gone and we looked to the northwest and the whole neighborhood’s gone.”

Kim Woods, his wife, added, “The whole neighborhood just to the north of us is pretty flattened.”

Three people, including a child, were in the basement of the leveled home when the tornado hit but got out safely, according to Dhaval Naik, who said he works with home’s owner.

KETV-TV video showed one woman being removed from a demolished home on a stretcher in Blair, a city just north of Omaha.

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Two people were transported for treatment, both with minor injuries, Bonacci said.

“People had warnings of this and that saved lives,” Omaha Police Chief Todd Schmaderer said of the few serious injuries.

The tornado warning was issued in the Omaha area on Friday afternoon just as children were due to be released from school. Many schools had students shelter in place until the storm passed.

“Was it one long track tornado or was it several tornadoes?” Kern of the National Weather Service asked.

The agency planned to send out multiple crews over the next several days to determine the number of tornadoes and their strength, which could take up to two weeks, she said.

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Another tornado hit an area on the eastern edge of Omaha, passing directly through parts of Eppley Airfield, the city’s airport. Officials halted aircraft operations to access damage but then reopened the facility, Omaha Airport Authority Chief Strategy Officer Steve McCoy said.

The passenger terminal was not hit by the tornado but people rushed to storm shelters until the twister passed, McCoy said.

After passing through the airport, the tornado crossed the Missouri River and into Iowa, north of Council Bluffs.

In Lancaster County, where three people were injured when an industrial building collapsed, sheriff’s officials also said they had reports of a tipped-over train near Waverly, Nebraska.

The Omaha Public Power District reported nearly 10,000 customers were without power in the Omaha area. The number had dropped to just more than 4,300 Saturday morning.

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Pillen, the Nebraska governor, posted on the social platform X that he had ordered state resources to be made available to help with the emergency response and to support first responders as they assess the damage.

Hollingsworth reported from Mission, Kansas. Associated Press writers Ken Miller in Oklahoma City, Hannah Fingerhut in Des Moines, Iowa, Jack Dura in Bismarck, North Dakota, Jeff Martin in Atlanta and Lisa Baumann in Bellingham, Washington, contributed to this report.



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Nebraska Baseball Completes Comeback Over Iowa

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Nebraska Baseball Completes Comeback Over Iowa


Nebraska scored six unanswered runs and shut out Iowa over the last five innings for a 7-4 victory Friday night over the Hawkeyes in Lincoln. Tyler Stone’s three-run home run in the fifth inning erased a three-run deficit and tied the score at 4-4. Two innings later, the Huskers took the lead on Cole Evans’ RBI double, and two more runs in the eighth accounted for the final score. On the mound, the Huskers’ Brett Sears took the no-decision to remain 7-0 on the season, but his streak of nine consecutive quality starts ended. | Stats



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