EMPOWERING DIGITAL WELLNESS FOR KIDS | July 2025

Greetings Friend of the Lab,

At the Digital Wellness Lab, we believe technology can—and should—play a role in supporting young people’s mental health and social-emotional development. This month, we’re proud to share our latest white paper, Leveraging Interactive Media to Foster Social-Emotional Learning for Youth, commissioned by the Ruderman Family Foundation in collaboration with the Education Development Center (EDC).

Drawing insights from educators, technologists, SEL experts, and young people themselves, the paper offers practical recommendations for how digital platforms can embed social-emotional learning into the experiences teens already love—like social media, gaming, and streaming. It’s an important step forward in addressing the youth mental health crisis by meeting young people where they are.

Also in this issue:

• Explore new resources for parents and caregivers—from managing summer screen time to building healthy digital habits all year long.
• Hear from Yuki, a member of our 2024-25 Student Advisory Council, on balancing openness and guidance for healthy teen tech use.
• Learn why Dr. Hina Talib, a teen health advocate, urges parents to talk with pediatricians about digital wellness.
• Check out (Me)dia Mindfulness, a collaborative visual resource on Pinterest for families navigating digital life.
• Discover how the Lab is helping shape conversations on AI, trust, safety, and youth digital wellbeing at events around the country.

As always, we’re grateful for your interest and partnership in building a healthier digital future for kids and teens.

If you know someone who might benefit from these insights, please share this newsletter and encourage them to subscribe.

Toward a healthy digital future,

Cori Stott
Executive Director
The Digital Wellness Lab

Resources for Parents & Caregivers

(Me)dia Mindfulness

Designed for parents and caregivers, the resources highlighted in this Pinterest board offer approachable content on topics such as managing summer screen time, building healthy habits, and preparing for back-to-school transitions, with content grounded in youth voices and expert insights.

Check Out Board →

Navigating Summertime #Screentime

Our evidence-based essential guide offers best practices for managing your child's screen use, highlights the benefits of boredom, and provides age-optimal tips to cultivate a healthy, balanced relationship with screens, not just this summer, but all year long.

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Teen Voices

Yuki, a member of the Digital Wellness Lab’s 2024-2025 Student Advisory Council, shares how balancing openness with guidance is crucial for fostering healthy digital habits for teens.

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Conversations with Clinicians

Teen health advocate Dr. Hina Talib encourages families to talk openly with their pediatricians about digital wellness, as having these conversations can keep kids safe in all spaces.

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We believe that by following the science, we can create an empathetic and respectful world in which our kids can grow up #healthy, #smart, and #kind.

From Fellow Travelers

Backseat Book Crew with Josh Gad Amazon Kids

Frontiers in Digital Child Safety Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society

Tackling the Youth Mental Health Crisis: Why Every Child Needs a Trusted Adult The 74 Media

What Teens Are Saying About AI – Right Now Center for Digital Thriving

The Lab in Action

The Digital Wellness Lab will participate in convenings and collaborative events throughout July to champion the cause of promoting safety and digital well-being for youth.

— Brinleigh Murphy-Reuter is leading the Generative AI & Early Childhood Workshop with the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University. This innovative event will bring together academic experts, industry professionals, and youth representatives to develop the first comprehensive, expert-validated guidelines specifically for creating generative AI products for children ages 2-6.

— Katrina Ho will be attending the Digital Media and Developing Minds International Scientific Congress in Washington DC, joining researchers, clinicians, educators, government agency representatives, and others from around the world to explore how digital media use impacts the social, psychological, cognitive, behavioral, and physical development of children and adolescents. 

— Cori Stott will be participating in TrustCon in San Francisco, a global conference dedicated to the trust and safety profession that focuses on keeping online platforms and communities safe.