Family Digital Wellness Guide

The world in which young people are growing up today is dramatically different from the world of their parents’ childhoods. Screens are integrated into our daily lives — they are in our pockets, atop classroom desks, on our wrists, inside our cars, and in the hands of the youngest children and even babies. Not surprisingly, young people’s time spent engaging with digital media has increased dramatically in recent years.

With the digital landscape constantly evolving, families don’t have historical norms to guide effective parenting choices around devices and screen-based media such as apps and video games. With advocacy organizations warning of dire consequences of screen use and young people living their lives increasingly online, parents may feel concerned, confused, even guilty about their decisions around their children’s use of screens and interactive media.