What’s Happening at the Lab

The Lab will be convening our supporters for a deep dive into our most recent research, including early analyses of our forthcoming Pulse Survey on cell phone bans in schools.

The Advisors and Signatories of the Inspired Internet Pledge meet quarterly to discuss commitments and current and future initiatives, and to share about research, promising practices, and opportunities for collaboration.

Our Student Advisory Council members will be joined by a panel of experts from Boston Children’s Hospital to discuss current topics and careers in mental health. Our experts include:

• Dr. Stacy Drury, Psychiatrist in Chief
• Dr. Erica Lee, Psychologist
• Marisa Otis, MPH, Manager of Community Programs

Dr. Michael Rich will present a session to families and educators at BU Academy in Boston, discussing how to raise healthy, smart, kind kids in a screen-saturated world.

Dr. Michael Rich is the keynote speaker at the Children’s Foundation of Mississippi’s annual summit, Heart to Hearts: Conversations on the Changing Landscape of Childhood. The summit will also feature the release of the 2025 Mississippi KIDS Count report, a presentation from the FrameWorks Institute, and workshop breakout sessions on supporting children’s wellbeing.

Companies and organizations that design and deploy digital monitoring, moderating, and other safety interventions play a unique role in the digital ecosystem. Signatories and advisors in the Inspired Internet Pledge, led by Scroll by Choice, are convening a group of solutions providers to dig their perspectives and how they drive change within the three Pledge principles, to build a safer internet.

The Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop will host a fireside chat with The Mediatrician, Dr. Michael Rich, and Dr. Rosemarie Truglio, Senior Vice President of Curriculum and Content at Sesame Workshop. During this interactive session, Drs. Rich and Truglio will share practical strategies and research-based insights into how parents can guide their children toward balanced and mindful media use.

Dr. Rich will be meeting with the families and staff of Mason Rich Elementary School to discuss his book, The Mediatrician’s Guide: A Joyful Approach to Raising Healthy, Smart, Kind Kids in a Screen-Saturated World.

Massachusetts Partnerships for Youth is a non-profit organization serving schools and other entities in Massachusetts with a mission of prevention and intervention in matters of health and safety for youth. Dr. Michael Rich will be presenting about Problematic Interactive Media Use (PIMU) / Problematic Media Use (PMU) at their conference in a session titled “Youth, Mental Health, and Social Media: Understanding the challenges and Opportunities,” sharing information about PIMU / PMU detection and intervention with school counselors, psychologists, social workers, teachers, and administrators.

Dr. Michael Rich will be speaking with pediatric clinicians at New York Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital at Columbia University Irving Medical Center about Problematic Interactive Media Use (PIMU) / Problematic Media Use (PMU) and the work conducted at the Clinic for Interactive Media and Internet Disorders (CIMAID) at Boston Children’s Hospital.

Trust and Safety and Policy professionals from several technology and media companies will join our Student Advisory Council for a discussion about the career paths available in tech focused on designing and maintaining healthy and safe online spaces.