Our children’s young eyes are taking in all kinds of media and messaging with little skill on how to make sense of what they are seeing.
A major survey of youth age 8 to 18 found that of the total amount of time youth spend on screens the majority is spent watching stuff (movies, TV, Netflix, YouTube videos ). That makes up 40% of their time on screens. Meanwhile, another 30% of kids' screen time is spent playing video games and scrolling through the internet. That is a lot of imagery, messaging and subject matter being passively delivered to and consumed by our children. (The last big chunk, 30% is spent on communication, i.e., social media and such).
Growing up in the 70s and 80s there was a lot of discussion about media literacy classes, but surprisingly I never came across one until I was attending Stanford Medical School. While there, I ventured beyond medicine to take a fantastic media literacy class at Stanford University where I learned to decode media messages. For example, the teacher showed us magazine clips of women in ads who were lounging on couches and being idle while men in the ads were doing things like sailing boats or other active pursuits. We were asked to think critically and ask questions such as “How might people interpret the message?” or "How can this message help or harm a group of people?”
I suggest starting a conversation with your kids about media literacy at the dinner table. The National Association of Media Literacy’s downloadable free guide for parents is a great resource. Talk to them about questioning what they see when they view ads and social media posts, watch YouTube videos, play games and more.
Learn more about showing our movies in your school or community!
Join Screenagers filmmaker Delaney Ruston MD for our latest Podcast
Learn more about our Screen-Free Sleep campaign at the website!
Our movie made for parents and educators of younger kids
Learn more about showing our movies in your school or community!
Learn more about showing our movies in your school or community!
Join Screenagers filmmaker Delaney Ruston MD for our latest Podcast
Learn more about our Screen-Free Sleep campaign at the website!
Our movie made for parents and educators of younger kids
Join Screenagers filmmaker Delaney Ruston MD for our latest Podcast
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Our children’s young eyes are taking in all kinds of media and messaging with little skill on how to make sense of what they are seeing.
A major survey of youth age 8 to 18 found that of the total amount of time youth spend on screens the majority is spent watching stuff (movies, TV, Netflix, YouTube videos ). That makes up 40% of their time on screens. Meanwhile, another 30% of kids' screen time is spent playing video games and scrolling through the internet. That is a lot of imagery, messaging and subject matter being passively delivered to and consumed by our children. (The last big chunk, 30% is spent on communication, i.e., social media and such).
Growing up in the 70s and 80s there was a lot of discussion about media literacy classes, but surprisingly I never came across one until I was attending Stanford Medical School. While there, I ventured beyond medicine to take a fantastic media literacy class at Stanford University where I learned to decode media messages. For example, the teacher showed us magazine clips of women in ads who were lounging on couches and being idle while men in the ads were doing things like sailing boats or other active pursuits. We were asked to think critically and ask questions such as “How might people interpret the message?” or "How can this message help or harm a group of people?”
I suggest starting a conversation with your kids about media literacy at the dinner table. The National Association of Media Literacy’s downloadable free guide for parents is a great resource. Talk to them about questioning what they see when they view ads and social media posts, watch YouTube videos, play games and more.
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Our children’s young eyes are taking in all kinds of media and messaging with little skill on how to make sense of what they are seeing.
A major survey of youth age 8 to 18 found that of the total amount of time youth spend on screens the majority is spent watching stuff (movies, TV, Netflix, YouTube videos ). That makes up 40% of their time on screens. Meanwhile, another 30% of kids' screen time is spent playing video games and scrolling through the internet. That is a lot of imagery, messaging and subject matter being passively delivered to and consumed by our children. (The last big chunk, 30% is spent on communication, i.e., social media and such).
Growing up in the 70s and 80s there was a lot of discussion about media literacy classes, but surprisingly I never came across one until I was attending Stanford Medical School. While there, I ventured beyond medicine to take a fantastic media literacy class at Stanford University where I learned to decode media messages. For example, the teacher showed us magazine clips of women in ads who were lounging on couches and being idle while men in the ads were doing things like sailing boats or other active pursuits. We were asked to think critically and ask questions such as “How might people interpret the message?” or "How can this message help or harm a group of people?”
I suggest starting a conversation with your kids about media literacy at the dinner table. The National Association of Media Literacy’s downloadable free guide for parents is a great resource. Talk to them about questioning what they see when they view ads and social media posts, watch YouTube videos, play games and more.
Thoughtful family tech rules help protect kids’ wellbeing, learning, and sleep while strengthening connection at home. Using the fresh start of a new year, this post shares eight practical tech habits families can discuss and adapt together, including shared social media check-ins, screen time inventories, device-free meals, regular gaming breaks, and keeping phones out of bedrooms at night.
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Psychologist Jean Twenge explains how parental controls can support healthier tech use by protecting sleep, limiting late night device access, and reducing kids’ exposure to content they are not developmentally ready to handle. She discusses why third party parental control tools are often more effective and easier to use than built in options, while acknowledging that no system is perfect. Clear boundaries, combined with technology based limits, can reduce ongoing conflict and make screen time rules easier to enforce.
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for more like this, DR. DELANEY RUSTON'S NEW BOOK, PARENTING IN THE SCREEN AGE, IS THE DEFINITIVE GUIDE FOR TODAY’S PARENTS. WITH INSIGHTS ON SCREEN TIME FROM RESEARCHERS, INPUT FROM KIDS & TEENS, THIS BOOK IS PACKED WITH SOLUTIONS FOR HOW TO START AND SUSTAIN PRODUCTIVE FAMILY TALKS ABOUT TECHNOLOGY AND IT’S IMPACT ON OUR MENTAL WELLBEING.
