Articles containing: digital media

Could Screen-Free Week Backfire? Finding The Middle Ground

We are now in what I believe is the 19th annual “Screen-Free Week” in the United States and abroad. This is a much publicized and highly laudable movement that asks us to take a week—an entire week—to get our children to unplug whatever they happen to own with a screen.

Digital Media and Body Image

Gene Beresin and I have worked with individuals struggling with eating disorders, largely girls and young women and their families for years. As the psychiatric director of an inpatient medical stabilization unit for malnutrition, I see the devastating consequences of disordered eating on a daily basis.

Living With Technology – Shrinking It Down

Technology. Some days it feels like we can’t live with it, but in today’s world we certainly can’t live without it. And what’s the mental health impact on our kids and teens who seem consumed by their smartphones and other digital media 24/7?

The short answer is: It’s a gray area.

The Immediacy of Digital Media: For Better or Worse?

It was Patriot’s Day in Massachusetts.

I was meeting with a film maker about a possible collaboration on a documentary. We were interested in the impact of digital media on youth.

Shrinking It Down: Films That Heal, with Eric Lu (Season 1, Episode 5)

You can also listen to this podcast on SoundCloud, Stitcher, and iTunes. 

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Films foster empathy and can even promote social action. Sharing stories of mental health through video allows viewers to deeply connect with storytellers.

“You would do it if you loved me.” Teens, Coercive Relationships, and Digital Media

You would have to be completely unplugged to have missed the heightened reports of sexually coercive behavior among celebrities, prominent media figures, and politicians. Indeed, the seemingly sudden explosion of public knowledge of these deplorable actions might lead you to believe that we are encountering a new phenomenon.

Changing Lives Through Media

Our mission:

We are a practical, online educational resource dedicated to promoting and supporting the mental, emotional and behavioral wellbeing of children, teens, and young adults.

Embracing Reason in a World of (Expensive) Consumerism

Let’s talk about stuff.

I’m not talking about the stuff we talk about when we say to each other “Hey, we got stuff to talk about.”

I mean, literally, stuff. 

I’m talking about stuff you can hold, stuff you can carry, stuff that you can tangibly use. Stuff that can, ultimately, cost a whole lot of money.

The Role Of Apps In Distracted Teen Driving

As parents, we share some really big milestones with our children. There’s riding that bike for the first time, braving the first day of school, or marching off to sleep-away camp.

And, of course, there’s the huge anxiety-provoking-and-incredibly-exciting moment of earning the first driver’s license.

TV Doesn’t (Necessarily) Make Kids Fat

Here are three recent headlines that got me thinking:

“Watching one hour of TV per day increases risk for obesity by 50%”

“Watching TV for Just an Hour a Day Can Make Children Obese”

“Study makes surprising link between TV time and childhood obesity”

Oversimplifications? Um, yes.