The Stories Big Tech Doesn’t Want Told—And Why Audiences Want Them

A virtual panel on how writers can join the push to make tech platforms safer for humans.

Join Julie Scelfo (Moms Against Media Addiction), Nikki Iyer (Design It for Us), Betsy Bozdech (Common Sense Media), and more TBA in conversation with Will Jenkins (Public Leader Advisors) about how young people, families, and other leaders are joining together to make tech platforms safer for humans—and how writers can incorporate these storylines.

We often see stereotypes of young people as passive consumers of technology and parents as helpless bystanders. But reality is far more interesting. Across the country, a movement is unfolding. Young activists are exposing platform harms, parents are organizing for accountability, and courts are finally holding companies liable for the damage. Audiences are hungry for these stories across genres: from medical dramas exploring tech mental health crises, to legal thrillers centered on corporate accountability, to family sitcoms with real conversations about digital life, to coming-of-age stories about students who demand better. They’re timely. They’re human. And they can help audiences understand what’s happening now and imagine different futures.

The virtual panel will be followed by interactive breakout rooms where writers can talk directly with young people, parents, and advocates to gather the authentic details, surprising moments, and unexpected twists that make for great storytelling.

Julie Scelfo is Founder and Executive Director of Mothers Against Media Addiction (MAMA). She is an award-winning journalist, a former New York Times staff writer, a media ecologist, and a mom of three. Under Julie’s leadership, MAMA has established nearly 50 chapters across 25 states. Julie has also helped organize and lead MAMA’s extensive advocacy work, helping secure the passage of first-of-its-kind legislation in California and New York to ensure safety standards for artificial intelligence (AI), building bipartisan support for bell-to-bell school smartphone restrictions in more than a dozen states, helping pass age-appropriate social media design codes, and championing social media warning labels and AI chatbot safeguards. Julie was recognized by Chief with a 2025 New Era of Leadership Award, which honors women shaping the future of business and society. She is a frequent public speaker who regularly appears on television, radio, and podcasts.

Nikki Iyer is the Co-Chair of Design It For Us, a national youth-led coalition leveraging grassroots power to disrupt Big Tech’s harmful business models. Nikki’s goal is to foster greater balance, agency, and well-being among young people navigating an increasingly digital world. As Co-Chair, Nikki collaborates with youth organizers to translate young people’s lived experiences online into policy proposals and advocacy campaigns. Nikki is also a Political Economy and Rhetoric student at the University of California, Berkeley, where she explores how language surrounding technology shapes understanding of identity and social life.

Betsy Bozdech’s experiences working in online parenting and entertainment content were the perfect preparation for her role as Common Sense’s editorial director. After earning bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism in 1997, she began her editorial career at BabyCenter.com and then served as an editor at Reel.com, Emode.com, and AOL’s Digital City before working as the site content manager at Netflix for three years — and then joining Common Sense Media in 2006. She’s a lifelong movie and TV fan (favorites include The Princess Bride, 30 Rock, Some Like It Hot, Saturday Night Live, and Star Wars) and is delighted to have a job that makes keeping up on celebrity and pop culture news a necessity — which, in turn, helps give her (a little) cred with her two kids. In her role at Common Sense, Betsy has had the privilege of moderating a Comic-Con panel, serving as a juror for the San Francisco Film Festival, touring the set of Imagination Movers, interviewing filmmakers like The Good Dinosaur‘s Peter Sohn, and much more. She is also a member of the Alliance of Women Film Journalists.

Will Jenkins has served in senior roles across multiple administrations in the White House, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and both houses of Congress, as well as in the private sector. During his time in government, he worked on a wide range of issues, including mental health and addiction, healthcare, consumer privacy, tech safety, national security, and education. At the White House, he spearheaded the launch of multi-state public health and public safety campaigns involving media events and engagements with governors, state agency officials, legislators, mayors, parent and student groups, law enforcement, and public health professionals. He coordinated bipartisan Congressional strategies through briefings, meetings, and hearings to advance health and safety priorities, including successfully increasing funding and eliminating barriers to treatment. He met at the White House with Members of Congress and tech company executives to push for stronger online protections for kids. He collaborated with the Ad Council on a national media campaign and co-led the design and launch of the federal website, MentalHealth.gov, coordinating with multiple federal departments and private sector organizations. He also has trained or advised hundreds of film, TV, and digital creators on civics, science, and health. As a person with a disability, he has dedicated many years to expanding health care and opportunity.