This film addresses the challenges elementary school–aged children, parents, and educators face in today’s digital world, including early exposure to online content, social media pressures, device distractions in the classroom, moderating video game use and behavior, and rising sleep deprivation among youth.
Runtimes:
Full Version: 56 Minutes
Classroom Version: 26 Minutes
Film Team:
Co-Directors/Co-Producers: Delaney Ruston, MD & Lisa Tabb
Info:
Last Updated: 2025/26
Suitable for: K-5 and adults
Available subtitles: English, Spanish, French and more
Are you watching children become accustomed to technology at increasingly younger ages, drawn to stimulating online content, video games, and early social media exposure?
In Screenagers: Elementary School Age Edition, Dr. Ruston takes a deeply personal approach, exploring the vulnerable corners of family life, including her own, while seeking solutions to challenges such as setting limits, managing device distractions in school, moderating video game use, and navigating exposure to online content at too young an age.
Featuring insights from experts such as Jonathan Haidt, Anna Lembke, and many others, along with real-world stories from families and schools, the film examines how technology impacts children’s development and offers practical guidance to help kids build healthier relationships with screens and find balance in a digital world.
Please note: The original Screenagers film focuses on the impact of the digital age on teenagers, specifically looking at social media, video games, internet addiction, and academics. Screenagers Elementary School Age Edition is specifically tailored for younger parents of elementary school-age kids, focusing on the unique challenges and developmental needs of younger children. This edition offers age-appropriate strategies for building healthy digital habits early.
Our Screenagers movie event was a success! Your team was very helpful and professional. Screenagers has generated much discussion. We are planning for next year!
So many people thanked us for having a showing and it seemed like everyone gleaned something from it! Thank you again for walking us through everything and making it easy to have a community event like this.
It doesn't just discuss smartphones, but also smartwatches, tablets and computers
Screenagers features guidance for youth, parents and educators, along with a range of expert advice:
Prof. Social Psychology, NYU, Author, The Anxious Generation
Author & Child Psychologist
Author, Reclaiming Conversation
Psychology Researcher Iowa State University
Child Psychologist & Author
Child Development Researcher, Seattle Children’s Hospital
Author, Cinderella Ate My Daughter
Dir. of Sleep Medicine, Harvard Medical School
Prof., Stony Brook Medicine, Editor-In-Chief, Sleep Health
Pediatrician, Seattle Children’s Hospital
Chief of Stanford Addiction Medicine, Author, Dopamine Nation
Psychologist, Co-Founder Restart: Internet Rehab
Screenagers: Elementary School Age Edition helps parents and educators better understand how digital media and technology are shaping the lives of younger children.
Across school and community screenings, audiences report increased awareness of how screen use can affect attention, behavior, sleep, and social development during the elementary years.
By focusing on real families, classroom experiences, and child development research, the film offers practical guidance for setting healthy boundaries early. It helps parents and educators support children as they build self-regulation skills, empathy, and positive habits around technology.
As an early entry point in the Screenagers series, Screenagers: Elementary School Age Edition supports school communities in starting age-appropriate conversations and creating consistent expectations between home and school.
Were engaged by the movie
Thought the movie contained important information
Were motivated to make positive change after watching
Source: 2025 Survey of Member Schools
There are two main ways hosts can show this movie in their school or community:
A one-time screening license allows hosts to screen one of our movies once to their school or community on a chosen date.
The Screenagers Project is our online membership platform for schools and other orgs serving youth, giving year-round access to our movies, curriculum and resources.
We also provide all hosts with a range of helpful resources to help them put on an impactful event:
We provide discussion guides to help hosts facilitate meaningful, informed conversations after a screening, supporting reflection, dialogue, and next steps.
Our marketing pack is available ahead of your event to help you plan and promote your screening. It includes ready-to-use posters, editable templates, social media graphics, and more.
Our membership includes an extensive library of lesson plans educators can use alongside school or classroom screenings. Materials are tailored for grades K–12 and designed to extend learning beyond the film.
Each film includes printable handouts for attendees, helping families learn more about the film’s themes and continue conversations at home and in the wider community.
Don’t just take our word for it! Here’s what some of our recent hosts had to say about their screenings
Our Screenagers movie event was a success! Your team was very helpful and professional. Screenagers has generated much discussion. We are planning for next year!
The event achieved exactly what we set out to and more. I could not have asked for any better. I received so much positive feedback!
So many people thanked us for having a showing and it seemed like everyone gleaned something from it! Thank you again for walking us through everything and making it easy to have a community event like this.
The parents definitely appreciated the film and walked away with new perspectives. We paired the screening with a panel discussion featuring a clinical child psychologist and an expert on media and children. It was a huge success!
We have been fortunate enough to screen your films multiple times in our schools and community, in partnership with many here in Westborough. It has helped fuel me in my work and as a parent.
The film itself is wonderful, and I was so happy to find the wealth of resources that came along with it. We are glad to have such good support for our work with parents.
Learn more about showing our movies in your school or community!
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