mediaer
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What the Pandemic Did to Us: My Experience and a Little Advice for Parents
I was a freshman in high school when COVID-19 first hit in the middle of March, 2020. Like every other student, I was more than happy not to have school for two weeks. But as the break kept getting extended, I started to actually miss school, which was something I never thought I would say.…
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Intern Spotlight: Sam Schwamm
Meet our graduate research intern, Sam Schwamm! Sam is a second-year Master’s student in the Eliot-Pearson Child Study and Human Development program at Tufts University. He joined the Digital Wellness Lab in September and will be with us for the 2022-2023 school year. As an intern at the Lab, Sam provides support on multiple Lab…
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Michael Carter, Ph.D, Adds to the Lab’s Expertise
Within his role as a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow in Digital Wellness, Michael will work with the Lab to investigate ways to advance the design of interactive media for the health and well-being of youth. Dr. Carter’s previous research focuses on the intersection of media and mental health among young adults and adolescents. Most recently, his…
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Key Takeaways from Our 2022 Pulse Survey on Adolescent Media Use
Do you ever wonder what your teenager is thinking as they scroll through their phone or sit glued to their laptop? Parents have a lot of opinions about their kids’ media use, but what are the kids’ opinions? In our most recent Pulse Survey (Adolescent Media Use: Attitudes, Effects, and Online Experiences), the Digital Wellness…
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Adolescent Media Use: Attitudes, Effects, and Online Experiences
In this Pulse Survey, Adolescent Media Use: Attitudes, Effects, and Online Experiences, the Digital Wellness Lab surveyed 1,480 adolescents between the ages of 13 and 17 to learn more about how they perceive their individual media use and its effects on their health and well-being.
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Is Your Child’s Screen Use Damaging Their Eyes?
The American Academy of Ophthalmology has proclaimed that August is Children’s Eye Health and Safety Month, which is dedicated to preventing eye injuries and vision loss. Healthy vision is essential to a child’s ability to reach appropriate physical, social, and emotional milestones.
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Family Guide to Disinformation and Misinformation Online
Is that really true?! We’ve all seen the screaming headlines and tempting clickbait. Unfortunately, not all of the information on the internet tells the whole truth, and some of it is just plain false. Disinformation and misinformation can potentially to be extremely dangerous—especially for children and teens, who are still building the critical thinking skills…
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What’s a Pulse Survey?
One of the ongoing challenges of researching media and technology is that the digital landscape changes rapidly, often outpacing the research. Pulse Surveys help us keep up. Pulse Surveys allow us to collect data quickly, returning to similar audiences and measuring participants’ opinions and experiences on various topics. We conducted our first Pulse Survey in…
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Family Guide to a Child’s First Cell Phone
If your child is begging for a phone because all their friends have one (or if you want to give your child a phone so you can keep in contact with them) but you’re not sure if it’s a good idea, you are not alone. In our December 2021 Pulse Survey on Childrens’ First Cell…
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Zoey Yue, Ph.D is Bringing New Insight to the Digital Wellness Lab
We’re excited to welcome Zhiying (Zoey) Yue, Ph.D., to the Digital Wellness Lab this summer as a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow in Digital Wellness. Within her role, Zoey will be working with the Lab team to study the effects of emerging technologies in the realm of social media on young people’s mental health. Dr. Yue’s prior…
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Ask the Experts: How do I model good digital media and tech habits for my kids?
How do I model good digital media and tech habits for my kids? As the saying goes, actions speak louder than words. Drawing from what we know from research, this concept also applies to digital media use — what children observe their parents and siblings doing has a more substantial influence on them than being…
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Get the Family Outdoors with Digital Tech to Celebrate National Health and Fitness Day
Every day is a good day to get your family outside and moving but today is National Family Health and Fitness Day, which is a fantastic excuse to put a little extra elbow grease into planning some family outdoor activities. If the thought of peeling your kids away from their screens makes you want to…
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Family Guide to Problematic Interactive Media Use (PIMU)
The world in which young people are growing up today is dramatically different from the world of their parents’ youth. Nearly 100% of teens report having access to a smartphone or home computer, and, even before pandemic lockdowns drove us further online, nearly half of teens reported that they were online “almost constantly”. Adolescents are…
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Family Guide to Video Gaming
A quarter of teens believe they spend too much time playing video games, while a similar share feels they spend too little time doing so. Learn about the effects, both good and bad, of video games on children and how you can help your child have a healthy relationship with gaming.
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What To Do When… Your teen seems to prefer spending time online than with their family or “real world” friends
If it seems like your teen would rather spend time on their phone than with their family or even their IRL friends, you’re not alone. It’s normal for adolescents to prefer time with their social group over time with family, but there are some conversations you can have to help your teen create more balance…