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A College Student’s Perspective on Cell Phone Bans
Read the latest Teen Voices feature by college student Bansi, which explores why teaching long-term digital literacy and self-regulation—not just banning cell phones—is essential to prepare youth for a tech-driven…
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Conversations with Clinicians: Susan Fitzgerald, RN, MSN, CPNP
I am a nurse practitioner, a primary care clinician, and the Director of Boston HAPPENS, the Adolescent and Young Adult HIV program at BCH.
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Meet Nicole Powell, the Lab’s new Clinical Research Specialist
I’m Nicole, and I’m thrilled to join the Digital Wellness Lab as a Clinical Research Specialist. With a background in child development and family relations, I’m currently pursuing a dual…
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Valuable Insights Gained at the Family Online Safety Institute Conference
Earlier this week, our team participated in the Family Online Safety Institute (FOSI) Annual Conference in Washington D.C., which focused on new frontiers in online safety. At this conference, FOSI…
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Meet Oluwatomilola Idowu, our new Graduate Research Intern
We’re excited to welcome Oluwatomilola (Tomi) Idowu, BSc to the Digital Wellness Lab as a Graduate Research Intern.
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Meet Brinleigh Murphy-Reuter, our new Program Administrator
We’re excited to welcome Brinleigh Murphy-Reuter to the Digital Wellness Lab as our new Program Administrator and thought we’d let her introduce herself in her own words. So without further…
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Conversations with Clinicians: Jason Fogler, PhD
Jason Fogler, PhD. Attending Psychologist, Division of Developmental Medicine, Boston Children’s Hospital; LEND Director, Boston Children’s Hospital & the Institute for Community Inclusion, University of Massachusetts Boston; Assistant Professor of…
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Conversations with Clinicians: Meredith Gansner, MD
Meredith Gansner, MD – Attending Psychiatrist, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Boston Children’s Hospital – Instructor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School
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Key Takeaways from Our 2024 Pulse Survey on the Nuance of Social Media Use
In our most recent Pulse Survey, we asked 1,505 young people between the ages of 15 and 22 about aspects of their social media use using a unique approach…
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4 Filters for Digital Wellness
We’ve created our 4 Filters for Digital Wellness to help kids and adults make healthy choices when it comes to their #screentime.
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Q2 Roundup 2023: Together, We’re Building a Healthier Internet
We are proud of our efforts to create a healthier digital ecosystem for kids and the last few months have been especially rewarding! We have been out sharing insights from…
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The 5 M’s of Digital Wellness
Just as we wouldn’t hand a child a power tool without first teaching them how to use it, we should teach our kids to use their devices in a positive,…
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Surgeon General’s Advisory on Social Media and Youth Mental Health
We are thrilled to report that research from our August 2022 Pulse Survey was cited in the U.S. Surgeon General’s Advisory on Social Media and Youth Mental Health released on…
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Digital Wellness Lab Student Advisory Council Presents to Researchers and Industry Stakeholders
On Tuesday, May 16, the Digital Wellness Lab’s inaugural Student Advisory Council (SAC) of 10 high school students met over Zoom with an audience of 40 tech, media, healthcare, and…
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Announcing the Adolescent Media Project (AMP)
We are excited to announce the Adolescent Media Project (AMP), a collaborative study with Dr. Linda Charmaraman and the Youth, Media, & Wellbeing (YMW) Research Lab at Wellesley College!
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Q1 2023 Digital Wellness Roundup: News, Research, Guides & More
We’ve rounded up some notable articles, videos, and podcasts from the first three months of 2023 to provide an overview of some recent findings, recommendations, and trends concerning young people’s…
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Meet Kathy Cooney, CIMAID Clinical Social Worker
Earlier this year we welcomed Kathy Cooney, LICSW to the Digital Wellness Lab and Clinic for Interactive Media and Internet Disorders (CIMAID) team here at Boston Children’s Hospital.
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Sharenting: Understanding the Impact on Our Children’s Privacy and Well-being
Sharenting refers to parents sharing content about their children online. Sharenting is an easy, accessible way to share experiences and relate to other parents.
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Key Takeaways from Our 2023 Pulse Survey on Parental Mediation and Online Safety Features
The Digital Wellness Lab connects with adolescents regularly throughout the year using short Pulse Surveys to help us better understand their perspectives on “hot button” topics related to technology and…
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Benefits of Video Game Play: Content and Context Matter
Sam Schwamm’s academic and professional interests center on the relationship between interactive media (especially video games) and positive youth development.
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What’s Going With Us: A Guide for Parents from a Teen
Ibne Tamim is a senior at Manhattan Center For Science and Mathematics High School in New York City. Her passion and interest in behavioral and cognitive psychology…
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How You (and Your Kids) Can Feel Empowered by Social Media
All parents want the same thing: to raise their kids to be good humans. Part of that means learning what we can and passing that knowledge on to our kids.
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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’…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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What To Do When… It’s time to move your young child away from a screen
For parents of young children who struggle to take away tablets or phones or to turn off beloved TV shows without inciting tantrums, we offer strategies and conversation starters to…
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What To Do When… You want to teach your child how to play games with rules
Interactive games support your child’s development of reading, communication, and math skills. They also offer a great opportunity to build your child’s social emotional competencies. We offer strategies for conversations…
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What To Do When… You discover a caregiver is using more media with your child than you’re comfortable with
It’s not uncommon for daycares, babysitters, and other caregivers to use media and screens to entertain children during the day. We offer strategies for parents who want to address their…
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Ask the Experts: Toddlers and Background Noise
In this installment of Ask the Mediatrician, we offer a parent of a toddler guidance regarding the impacts of background media — TV, music, etc. — on their child’s development.
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Ask the Experts: Teens, Photos, and Online Privacy
The Mediatrician offers a parent of a teenager strategies to support her daughter’s healthy and safe use of photo sharing on social media.
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Ask the Experts: Gradeschoolers and Video Games
In this installment of Ask the Mediatrician, we talk about strategies for supporting a school age child’s healthy use of video games.
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What To Do When… You’re not sure how to talk to your young child about media
It may feel awkward, but talking to babies and toddlers about media can help to build their communication and social emotional skills while developing their healthy engagement with technology and…
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What To Do When… You’re concerned your child is being cyberbullied
Studies indicate that 20-40% of children experience cyberbullying, with the prevalence higher for girls and LGBTQIA children. In this post, we provide suggestions for conversation starters to address your concerns…
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What To Do When… You see inappropriate content on your teen’s social media page
We offer strategies and conversation starters for parents who find inappropriate content — such as drug or alcohol use, hateful language, or sexually explicit photos — on their child’s social…
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Ask the Experts: Teens and Bingewatching and Doomscrolling
In this installment of Ask the Mediatrician, we offer a parent of a teenager strategies to help him break the mindless habit of staying up all night binge watching and…
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Ask the Experts: Middle Schoolers and R-Rated Movies
In this installment of Ask the Mediatrician, we offer a parent guidance for what to do when her middle-schooler is begging to see an R-rated movie all his friends have…
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Ask the Experts: E-books vs. Print Books for Toddlers
In this installment of Ask the Mediatrician, we offer a parent of a toddler guidance regarding the use of e-books for reading together.
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What to Do When… Your child’s friends have greater access online than they do
It’s not easy for a child when their friends get things they don’t. In this post, we offer some conversation starters for helping your child deal with their envy and…
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Social Media-lutions 2022
This year, social media continues to be popular among teenagers. As 2022 approaches, consider making a New Year’s social media-lution–a resolution around social media use–with your teen to help them…
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Digital Wellness Lab Applauds Surgeon General’s Youth Mental Health Advisory
In October 2021, when the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, and the Children’s Hospital Association released a statement declaring the “worsening crisis in…
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Building Social-Emotional Skills With Technology: How to Use SEL to Cultivate Digital Wellness
Throughout the past two decades, social-emotional learning has evolved into one of the most frequently talked about (and researched) topics within the field of education.
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Is Social Media the Tobacco of the 21st Century?
Social media, as former Facebook president Sean Parker famously acknowledged, is “exploiting a vulnerability in human psychology” by creating a “social validation feedback loop”. In a country where over 85%…
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Taking the pulse: Kids’ media use during the COVID-19 pandemic
The Digital Wellness Lab surveyed real parents to find out how they feel about their child’s media use and remote learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. While the pandemic has made…
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Welcome to the Digital Wellness Lab!
Welcome to the Digital Wellness Lab! Over the past year, what we used to call the virtual world has become… the world. The global pandemic instantaneously shifted nearly every human…