Screenagers Blog

When I saw this sticker in a bookstore, it made me laugh. I asked myself, “Is this what it has all come to?” Fortunately, I know that it is being tongue-in-cheek. Then I remembered that people can get unexpectedly irritated when texting, and someone chimes in — like my husband. Fact: humans can become highly irritated by what seems like minor things for some inexplicable reason. Our wired world provides many such situations. I would wager a hefty sum of money that everyone reading this experiences levels of annoyance by things people do tech-wise that feel out of proportion to the actual act. Today I offer several personal examples from my family and others and four ways to address these dilemmas.

Today, I’m writing about cannabis — or, as teens mainly refer to it, weed. Weed is by far the most common term. “Pot” is rarely used by younger people. I have worked hard in my clinic to refrain from using that word. I also do not use the term marijuana, although that term often gets used in research papers. In today’s blog, I write about four important topics and questions to discuss with youth in your life.

April is Alcohol Awareness Month, and I propose we use it as a time not to be overly fixated on the topic but to use it as a time to have one or two calm conversations. In today’s blog, I guide you through some topics and ideas to bring up with your kids about what they see in shows, movies, music videos, and social media and how it might influence their decisions.

In Screenagers Under The Influence, we examine the scary reality that people use apps, such as Discord and Snapchat, to reach young people in the hopes of selling them drugs. They might advertise they are selling Oxycodone, Ativan, or some other substance. The buyer has no idea that many of these are not what the sellers claim but instead are fake/counterfeit pills and that part of what they have in them is fentanyl.

We all would love for our kids not to smoke now or in the future. The reality is that some high school students, middle school students, and even some younger kids vape using e-cigarettes. As a physician, I can tell you that many of my teen patients have said they indeed use e-cigarettes, and their parents are unaware of this. Ellie, from the Screenagers Under The Influence film, indeed did not let her parents know she had been vaping for quite a long time. A survey of parents released last week provides some interesting data about parents’ beliefs when it comes to their children and vaping. Read on for a few of the findings.

In our new film, Screenagers Under the Influence: Addressing Vaping, Drugs, and Alcohol in the Digital Age, adolescent psychologist Laura Kastner discusses the importance of natural and logical consequences. Natural consequences directly respond to a person's actions or inactions, while logical consequences have some connection to the behavior being addressed. Read in today’s blog more about how this type of punishment can backfire.

Our new film, Screenagers Under The Influence: Addressing Vaping, Drugs, and Alcohol in the Digital Age, features five inspiring stories that are raw, relatable, and full of hope. We hear from families, youth, experts, and scientists, and the richness of their experiences will spark productive conversations wherever the film is shown.

I’m thrilled to be sharing news with you about our new movie coming out at the end of this month, Screenagers Under The Influence: Vaping, Drugs, and Alcohol in the Digital Age. And, to share a sneak peek of part of the actual film!

A few weeks ago I wrote a blog and encouraged people to share with youth in their lives whatever small change they made and to share with me as well so that I could share with you! And that is what I am doing today. I received some great responses. Here are a few examples people shared with me:

Today’s blog is about improving communication and understanding of what people are doing on their devices, and it is also about modeling having more mindfulness of what one is doing. I offer a model of how to break down screen time and how it can be helpful to model saying to family members which of these three things you are doing on your devices: Tool, Talk, and Treat.

This week I’m pouring all my creative energy into finishing our new film. Much more to come very soon, but this one is called "Screenagers Under The Influence" and is all about vaping, drugs, and alcohol in the digital age. If you are interested in learning more about how to host it this spring or fall, you can fill out a quick form on the blog page, and we’ll reach out shortly. In the meantime, I encourage you to check out "The Screenagers Podcast," where I explore strategies for raising screen-wise and tech-balanced youth.

Cooking creates self-confidence, self-efficacy and is a great offline activity. Today, I have some food moves to help inspire your child to up their cooking game — whether they are naysayers or Chez Panisse wannabes, I think they’ll like these.