When we screened Screenagers to employees at Pixar, the organizer Guido Quaroni, V.P. of Software R&D at Pixar (and also the voice Guido in Cars) and I talked about their recruitment efforts. He told me that the hardest people to find for Pixar were good story writers, animators, designers... not programmers. The creatives, however, he said ... "Ahhh, man, that is hard."
In a Common Sense Media report they found that only 3% of what kids do online is actually content creation, i.e. making videos, music with programs like Garage Band. This not surprising because it's hard work to be creative (Elizabeth Gilbert talks beautifully about this in her TED Talk). The brain of teens, like us. gets seduced into relaxation through entertainment.
I've been shocked that my kids' teachers never give homework that involves using tech for creating. I'd love to see homework that requires actions like listening to music that ties into history and then have them try to compose a funny bit on their own using something like Garage Band. They have so much homework on the computer why not have part of the homework really focus on using it creatively?
Learn more about showing our movies in your school or community!
Join Screenagers filmmaker Delaney Ruston MD for our latest Podcast
Learn more about our Screen-Free Sleep campaign at the website!
Our movie made for parents and educators of younger kids
Learn more about showing our movies in your school or community!
Register your interest in bringing our new movie to your school or community
Learn more about showing our movies in your school or community!
Join Screenagers filmmaker Delaney Ruston MD for our latest Podcast
Learn more about our Screen-Free Sleep campaign at the website!
Our movie made for parents and educators of younger kids
Join Screenagers filmmaker Delaney Ruston MD for our latest Podcast
Register your interest in bringing our new movie to your school or community
As we’re about to celebrate 10 years of Screenagers, we want to hear what’s been most helpful and what you’d like to see next.
Please click here to share your thoughts with us in our community survey. It only takes 5–10 minutes, and everyone who completes it will be entered to win one of five $50 Amazon vouchers.
When we screened Screenagers to employees at Pixar, the organizer Guido Quaroni, V.P. of Software R&D at Pixar (and also the voice Guido in Cars) and I talked about their recruitment efforts. He told me that the hardest people to find for Pixar were good story writers, animators, designers... not programmers. The creatives, however, he said ... "Ahhh, man, that is hard."
In a Common Sense Media report they found that only 3% of what kids do online is actually content creation, i.e. making videos, music with programs like Garage Band. This not surprising because it's hard work to be creative (Elizabeth Gilbert talks beautifully about this in her TED Talk). The brain of teens, like us. gets seduced into relaxation through entertainment.
I've been shocked that my kids' teachers never give homework that involves using tech for creating. I'd love to see homework that requires actions like listening to music that ties into history and then have them try to compose a funny bit on their own using something like Garage Band. They have so much homework on the computer why not have part of the homework really focus on using it creatively?
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When we screened Screenagers to employees at Pixar, the organizer Guido Quaroni, V.P. of Software R&D at Pixar (and also the voice Guido in Cars) and I talked about their recruitment efforts. He told me that the hardest people to find for Pixar were good story writers, animators, designers... not programmers. The creatives, however, he said ... "Ahhh, man, that is hard."
In a Common Sense Media report they found that only 3% of what kids do online is actually content creation, i.e. making videos, music with programs like Garage Band. This not surprising because it's hard work to be creative (Elizabeth Gilbert talks beautifully about this in her TED Talk). The brain of teens, like us. gets seduced into relaxation through entertainment.
I've been shocked that my kids' teachers never give homework that involves using tech for creating. I'd love to see homework that requires actions like listening to music that ties into history and then have them try to compose a funny bit on their own using something like Garage Band. They have so much homework on the computer why not have part of the homework really focus on using it creatively?
E-readers are convenient, but there are three reasons to lean toward paper books this summer. First, e-readers are screens, and the pull of everything else you could do on one makes it harder to stay immersed. Second, a large meta-analysis found people understand and remember slightly better on paper, especially with longer texts. Third, easy access to endless book samples makes it too tempting to jump ship rather than work through the slower parts, since reading, unlike TikTok, is about delayed gratification.
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Summer's wide open hours raise two perennial questions: how to reset screen time once the school-year structure disappears, and how to fill the freed-up days with things that are good for kids and parents alike. This week rounds up seven favorite past summer posts to help with both.
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Hobbies offer benefits at every age, from helping children build a sense of self to giving retirees a renewed sense of purpose. The word traces back to the 1400s as a nickname for a small horse, later evolving into today's meaning of a pastime pursued for its own sake. Parents can spark interest by sharing their own hobby histories, building a family-history hobby list, and trying new activities together. Summer is an ideal time to lean into offline hobbies as an antidote to screen saturation.
READ MORE >for more like this, DR. DELANEY RUSTON'S NEW BOOK, PARENTING IN THE SCREEN AGE, IS THE DEFINITIVE GUIDE FOR TODAY’S PARENTS. WITH INSIGHTS ON SCREEN TIME FROM RESEARCHERS, INPUT FROM KIDS & TEENS, THIS BOOK IS PACKED WITH SOLUTIONS FOR HOW TO START AND SUSTAIN PRODUCTIVE FAMILY TALKS ABOUT TECHNOLOGY AND IT’S IMPACT ON OUR MENTAL WELLBEING.
