Rebecca Ruiz is a Senior Reporter at Mashable. She frequently covers mental health, digital culture, and technology. Her areas of expertise include suicide prevention, screen use and mental health, parenting, youth well-being, and meditation and mindfulness. Rebecca's experience prior to Mashable includes working as a staff writer, reporter, and editor at NBC News Digital and as a staff writer at Forbes. Rebecca has a B.A. from Sarah Lawrence College and a masters degree from U.C. Berkeley's Graduate School of Journalism.
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'Not everything needs to be known': How one day with no phone changed my life
I'm sleeping better. I have more patience. And I feel much closer to an enduring calm.
By Rebecca Ruiz
Explaining the phenomenon known as 'AI psychosis'
"Psychosis thrives when reality stops pushing back, and AI can really soften that wall."
By Rebecca Ruiz
Kids aren't learning to spell anymore
If your child struggles to spell, they're not alone. Here's what to do.
By Rebecca Ruiz
How ChatGPT ends up in children's toys
A teddy bear using ChatGPT got spicy. Now we have more questions about AI toys than answers.
By Rebecca Ruiz
Latest From Rebecca Ruiz
Meta loses major child safety trial, ordered to pay $375 million
Jurors found the social media company liable for misleading consumers about child safety.
By Rebecca Ruiz
Why friction-maxxing could be good for your tech usage
Rethink your relationship to your device — and your humanity.
By Rebecca Ruiz
AI brings Val Kilmer back to life in new movie
A version of the deceased Hollywood icon will appear in a forthcoming indie film.
By Rebecca Ruiz
Study: Teen girls are using AI to create sexual imagery
It's not entirely clear why teen girls are turning to nudification tools, but these researchers have ideas.
By Rebecca Ruiz
'Use a gun': AI chatbots help people plan violence, report says
Researchers posing as teens got popular AI assistants to help them map out shootings and bombings.
By Rebecca Ruiz
Yes, you can unplug for 24 hours
The Global Day of Unplugging is the perfect opportunity to reset your relationship with your phone.
By Rebecca Ruiz
Instagram to alert parents when teens search for suicide
The social media platform will look for these signs before notifying a parent.
By Rebecca Ruiz
Anthropic changes safety policy amid intense AI competition
The company behind Claude acknowledged that its original safety policy faced too many obstacles.
By Rebecca Ruiz
How teens really feel about AI and their future
New research gives a glimpse into how teens are using artificial intelligence.
By Rebecca Ruiz
Government shutdown won't affect your 2026 tax return
The government impasse only directly affects one federal agency.
By Rebecca Ruiz
Economic strike effort: Quit these tech services
"Resist and Unsubscribe" strike targets tech companies to influence Trump policies.
By Rebecca Ruiz
Discord defaults to teen experience for all users
The popular messaging platform will require proof of age to access adult spaces and content.
By Rebecca Ruiz
Top tech jobs 2026: 5 of the fastest-growing tech, AI careers
Companies ranging from OpenAI, Meta, Microsoft, and Google to smaller firms and startups are looking for high-quality AI professionals.
By Rebecca Ruiz and Chase DiBenedetto
The tech titans who show up in the Epstein files
Jeffrey Epstein had a network of tech leaders at his fingertips.
By Rebecca Ruiz
FBI says it's investigating Signal. Should users worry?
The probe, announced via podcast, has been widely criticized.
By Rebecca Ruiz
'Shameful': Tech leaders react to ICE killing of Alex Pretti
The ICE shooting of Alex Pretti has stirred many in Silicon Valley.
By Chris Taylor and Rebecca Ruiz
Child experts: AI toys too risky for young kids
Researchers warn parents about popular AI toys after testing them.
By Rebecca Ruiz
OpenAI launches age prediction for teen safety
OpenAI is trying to keep teens safer by estimating their age.
By Rebecca Ruiz
Google reverses key parental control policy
Teens will now need to get explicit permission to remove a parental supervision setting.
By Rebecca Ruiz
Character.AI settles lawsuits related to teen deaths
The lawsuits alleged that Character.AI's chatbot product was defective and dangerous.
By Rebecca Ruiz
Study: Teens spend hour-plus on their phones at school
Teens aren't using their phones to study or learn. Instead, they're on these popular apps.
By Rebecca Ruiz
Public Domain Day 2026 list: Betty Boop, Disney cartoons, classic books, and more
The list includes characters and books, like Betty Boop and Faulkner's 'As I Lay Daying.'
By Rebecca Ruiz
Instagram CEO thinks real content should be labeled
How will we tell real creator content from the AI variety? Adam Mosseri has some ideas.
By Rebecca Ruiz
Make 2026 the year your kid gets off their device
Use these four strategies to reset your child's relationship with time-sucking tech.
By Rebecca Ruiz
Why your kid can't rely on tech tools to spell
When kids depend on spellcheck, autocorrect, and ChatGPT, they're at a serious disadvantage.
By Rebecca Ruiz