How can I have a productive conversation with my teen about screen time this summer? What are the benefits of spending more time outside and away from devices? How can teens motivate themselves to step away from screens? What are the benefits of screen time for my teen during the pandemic when she can’t see her friends?

On Monday, June 8, 2020, Children and Screens: Institute of Digital Media and Child Development hosted “Summer of COVID-19: Teens and Screens,” another installment of its popular Ask the Experts virtual workshop series. With social distancing measures keeping families home for the summer, screen use has increased and, along with that, household tensions surrounding screen time, constant exposure to graphic news and social media posts.

[03:42] Under the adept moderation of Dr. Robert Bilder, Director of the Tennenbaum Center for the Biology of Creativity and Distinguished Professor of Psychiatry and Psychology at UCLA, three experts offered their insights on the impacts of screens on adolescents, ways for parents to facilitate productive conversations about online activity with teens, and the ways in which nature can be an antidote for loneliness and stress during these isolating times.

[05:04] Dr. Paul Weigle, a child and adolescent psychologist at Natchaug Hospital and Chair of the Media Committee at the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, discussed the developmental needs of adolescents, the impact of screen use on adolescent behavior, health and well-being, and strategies for guiding teens toward healthier habits.

[19:40] Dr. Delaney Ruston, a physician and filmmaker of documentaries for parents, presented on the importance of parents and teens sharing their stories and pathways to solution-based conversations about adolescent screen use.

[34:06] Richard Louv, a journalist and author of 10 books, shared his knowledge about the benefits that adolescents experience from spending more time in nature and how the pandemic and increasing technology use has deepened the need for engagement in the natural world.

[51:36] Finally, moderator Dr. Robert M. Bilder, utilizing his recent research, illustrated how screens affect creativity and suggested ways parents can encourage teens to create.

Moderator:
Robert M. Bilder, PhD, ABPP-CN
Michael E. Tennenbaum Family Distinguished Professor and Chief, Division of Psychology; Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine
Department of Psychology, UCLA College of Letters and Science, Jane & Terry Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior at UCLA
Stewart & Lynda Resnick Neuropsychiatric Hospital at UCLA
Codirector, MindWell Pod of the Semel UCLA Healthy Campus Initiative
https://www.psych.ucla.edu/faculty/page/rbilder

Distinguished Experts:
Paul Weigle, MD
Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist
Associate Medical Director, Natchaug Hospital,
Ambulatory Service, Natchaug Hospital
Chair of the Media Committee, American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry

Delaney Ruston, MD
Documentary Filmmaker/Speaker/Physician
Films include SCREENAGERS and Screenagers NEXT CHAPTER
https://www.delaneyruston.com/bio

Richard Louv
Journalist and author of 10 books, including Our Wild Calling, How Connecting with Animals Can Transform Our Lives—and Save Theirs; Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder; The Nature Principle; and Vitamin N
http://richardlouv.com/about/

Children and Screens: Institute of Digital Media and Child Development is one of the nation’s leading nonprofits supporting and advancing evidence-based scientific research on technology’s impacts on child health and well-being, convening interdisciplinary clinicians, researchers, educators, public health experts and others; and educating the public about the impacts of technology on children’s health, well-being, and development.

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