“Children need to develop their skills, and hopefully AI will not hinder that" -Torrance Lewis

Join host Josh Ochs on the SmartSocial.com Podcast as he talks with Torrance Lewis, Assistant Superintendent of Lincoln Public Schools in Lincoln, Massachusetts, serving about 1,000 students across two campuses, including a school on Hanscom Air Force Base. They dig into the digital issues showing up across K–12 right now, from phone addiction, sleep deprivation, cyberbullying, and FOMO to viral trends and the way algorithms can pull kids into unhealthy rabbit holes. Lewis explains why families and schools need a developmental lens, setting early boundaries and gradually releasing independence instead of handing kids sudden, unrestricted access, including what he calls “potted plant parenting.” The conversation also covers red flags for dangerous strangers online, plus how to approach AI in education with digital literacy, ethics, and guardrails that protect students’ human skills while helping teachers work more efficiently.