Digital Wellness Lab

How can we support students’ mental health without removing tech from classrooms? This week, Dr. Michael Tsappis, a provider in the Clinic for Interactive Media and Internet Disorders (CIMAID) at Boston Children's Hospital, led a crucial conversation with special education specialists and social workers, tackling this very question. His presentation focused on practical ways to promote balanced technology use in classrooms, offering strategies to help students stay connected without overuse. Dr. Tsappis also shared vital tips on addressing common tech misuse—like improper messaging and sleep deprivation from excessive screen time. You can learn more about problematic tech use at https://ow.ly/OFr650U7Qxa

??ONLINE SAFETY TIPS:?Josh, a college student and member of the 2023-24 Digital Wellness Lab Student Advisory Council, has built relationships with others through school, traveling, and, yes, online communities! "While [meeting them in person] sounds scary, because they were once strangers online, I got to know these people and made sure I could trust them." He draws from these experiences to offer nine practical approaches for keeping bots, scammers, and hackers out of your digital life, freeing up that space for people who could become future friends and community members. Learn more: ?? https://ow.ly/BKCz50U7br2 #DigitalSafety #OnlineSafety #StaySafeOnline #ProtectYourPrivacy #CyberSecurity #SmartphoneSafety #SocialMediaTips #TeenSafety #DigitalWellness #DigitalLiteracy #StaySecure

The Surgeon General has declared that loneliness is an epidemic, but what role does technology play in our loss of social connection? Dr. Laura Marciano, our colleague at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health (and member of the Lab's Youth and Interactive Media Coalition), is part of the cadre of scholars working to identify answers to this important question. In recent research, featured this week in the The New York Times, Dr. Marciano leveraged the reach of social media creators to recruit teens for the study (innovative in itself!) and found that over half of the young people reported being active on social media, but that they had not spoken to another person in the hour prior. This resonates with the Times' key takeaway of research in this area - though tech may not be making people lonely, many people who are feeling lonely may be "using tech in unhealthy ways". Learn more about Laura's work and how she and other scholars connect loneliness and tech here (??) https://ow.ly/41c950U6a5W

?? We are proud to welcome the 17 exceptional high school students from around the U.S. who will serve on the Lab's 2024-25 Student Advisory Council! ?? In our inaugural meeting, we dove straight into a discussion of what "digital wellness" means and looks like. The group emphasized the importance of building and maintaining healthy relationships with technology, employing critical reflection about online content, and being mindful about online behaviors and media consumption, with students sharing that to them, digital wellness is... “...understanding how your actions can influence your real life mental and physical health.” “...about using technology in ways that are beneficial, building healthy patterns over time and reflecting on how media makes someone feel.” “...being aware of the relationship between things you see online and whether they track in “real life.” It means being careful with the actions you take and the information you consume – how you engage with media creates your online environment.” “...seeing different perspectives, making sure the information gathered is accurate, checking sources, and being in the right positive mindset to distinguish if content can enhance wellbeing.” “...having and maintaining healthy habits for yourself, rather than relying on technology to do it for you.” We rounded off the meeting with a fascinating conversation about the different smartphone and device policies that have been implemented at schools. Council members shared about varying enforcement across their schools, districts, and states, and their perspectives on the regulations. We can't wait to hear more from this insightful group of teens and look forward to our November meeting centered on the topic of Belonging & Sense of Community within the digital world.

DIGITAL PARENTING TIPS FROM AN EXPERT: In our most recent Conversation with Clinicians, we hear from Dr. Michael Tsappis, co-founder of the Clinic for Interactive Media and Internet Disorders (#CIMAID) here at Boston Children's Hospital. Dr. Tsappis shares guidance for families based on his experience as a clinician diagnosing and treating Problematic Interactive Media Use (#PIMU), saying, “The fun part of my job is figuring out how to help kids stay out of my clinic in the first place — we don't want to help them after they're starting to have difficulties, instead we want to help them avoid the difficulties.” Read the interview for ways to help kids develop healthy, safe online habits: https://ow.ly/Rsch50U58s4

Last week, the Lab's Executive Director, Cori Stott, and Clinical Research Specialist, Nicole Powell, trekked to Wellesley College to watch our summer intern Zoe's #TannerConference presentation, "Digital Wellbeing Workshops: Cultivating Community and Empowering Youth". Describing work she did in Dr. Linda Charmaraman's Youth & Wellbeing Lab at the Wellesley Centers for Women, Wellesley College, Zoe spoke about the powerful experience of leading digital wellbeing workshops with middle school girls from the greater Boston area. A particularly striking takeaway for us was how the workshops — which were framed around asking the young women to contemplate how they can use their own influence and power to be agents of change to make a healthier, kinder digital space — opened up a whole new level of engagement. Surprised at being asked, instead of being lectured about privacy and safety, the students came up with great ideas for encouraging balance and creating community. As Zoe noted, "Teens need more balance. They crave more balance. There's a social norm [to be constantly available and online] but they don't actually like that social norm." Such workshops show us that, with dedicated effort and open minds, we can help young people be the architects of the online world that we — and most importantly, they — want to see.

ARE YOU WORRIED ABOUT YOUR CHILD'S INTERNET USE? If you think your child's online or tech activities are causing notable problems with their sleep, school, relationships, or other aspects of their physical, social, and #mentalhealth, the Clinic for Interactive Media and Internet Disorders can help. #CIMAID is a specialty clinic within the Division of Adolescent and Young Adult Medicine at Boston Children's Hospital. The CIMAID team, led by co-founders Dr. Michael Rich and Dr. Michael Tsappis, social worker Kathryn Cooney, and clinic coordinator Bianca Alvarez, evaluates and treats children, teens, and young adults to help them — and their families — adopt and sustain healthy behaviors online. CIMAID accepts insurance from all major providers, including #MassHealth, and accepts patient referrals from clinicians and appointment requests directly from parents and guardians. If you feel your child’s internet use is causing negative impacts on their daily functioning and health, you can find more information about CIMAID on our website under “Resources”.

ARE YOU MODELING HEALTHY DIGITAL HABITS FOR YOUR KIDS? Learn more about our 5 M’s of Digital Wellness to help you support your child’s mental, social, and emotional health and overall wellbeing within a digitally-saturated world: https://lnkd.in/gZmQMTZF

We are so excited about the #research database Sonia Livingstone and Digital Futures for Children centre (DFC) at The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) have created to support the dissemination of rigorous evidence about what the data really say regarding young people's digital lives and the effects of tech & media on their wellbeing. Amazing work!

?? Gaming: A Double-Edged Sword for Teens? Our recent report commissioned by the Ruderman Family Foundation, "Connected Play: Adolescent Gaming and Perceived Loneliness", reveals that while most teens enjoy positive, safe gaming experiences, about 20% encounter toxicity and safety issues when engaging with strangers. Gaming environments are powerful spaces for connection and engagement, but they can also present risks. As we support teens in navigating these digital worlds, fostering both awareness and safety measures is essential. Learn more and link to the full report here: https://ow.ly/kH4W50U1gyR