Screen Use and Well Being Committee
Focused on sharing up-to-date research on screen use and its impact on child development and mental health.
Goals include:
Hosting parent conversations to foster informed decision-making around technology acquisition and exposure
Increasing family participation in the Wait Until Eighth pledge
Creating opportunities for critical reflection around how and when technology is used in the classroom, advocating for change when appropriate.
Co-Chairpersons - Valentina Fleer and Michelle Burke
Contact - screenuseandwellbeing@muscota.org
Additional Members: Adria Cruz, Ed Boyak, Jill Shimmel, Laurie Slodounik, Clare Flack
All current Muscota parents are welcome to join
Mental Health Concern
We founded this committee because we care about our kids. We’re concerned about the research coming out related to smartphones and mental health. We have questions about how screens are being used in schools. We want to provide kids with lots of opportunities for physical play and distraction-free socializing in the real world. Having open, honest and productive conversations about how and why we’re using certain technologies allows all of us to make more-informed decisions. Please start your own educational journey and come talk with us. Below are some resources to get you started.
Online Resources
Tweens, Screens, and Social Media Presentation
by Parent Michele Burke
Held at Muscota 1-13-25
The Anxious Generation Online
https://www.anxiousgeneration.com/
Wait until 8th
Join other Muscota families by signing a pledge to wait until after 8th grade to get your child a smartphone. https://www.waituntil8th.org/take-the-pledge. Here are smartphone alternatives: https://www.waituntil8th.org/devices
Let Grow
Common Sense Media
https://www.commonsensemedia.org/
Mothers Against Media Addiction (MAMA)
ScreenStrong
1000 Hours Outside
https://www.1000hoursoutside.com/
Book List
The Anxious Generation
Jonathan Haidt
Must Read! This may be considered our textbook
Reset Your Child’s Brain
Victoria L. Dunckley
Free-Range Kids
Lenore Skenazy
Until the Streetlights Come On
Ginny Yurich
There’s No Such Thing as Bad Weather
Linda Åkeson McGurk
Balanced and Barefoot
Angela J. Hanscom
Behind Their Screens
Emily Weinstein and Carrie James
Digital Minimalism: Choosing a Focused Life in a Noisy World
Cal Newport
Media
“End the Phone-Based Childhood Now” 3-13-24
“New York City Designates Social Media a Public Health Hazard” 1-25-24
https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2024/01/25/nyc-social-media-health-hazard-toxin/
“Surgeon General Calls for Warning Labels on Social Media Platforms” 6-18-24
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/17/health/surgeon-general-social-media-warning-label.html
“Australia Has Barred Everyone Under 16 From Social Media” 11-28-24
“Mental Health Experts Warn of Social Media's Impact on Teens” 9-12-24
“New York governor to launch bill banning smartphones in schools” 5-30-24
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/may/30/new-york-smartphone-school-ban-bill
“Hochul considers smartphone ban for New York schools, citing student mental health concerns” 5-30-24
“Los Angeles school board will ban students from using cell phones during the school day. But questions loom on how to do it” 6-18-24
https://www.cnn.com/2024/06/18/us/lausd-cell-phone-ban-students/index.html
“Get Phones Out of Schools Now” 6-6-23
“Social-Media Companies’ Worst Argument” 9-12-24
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2024/09/social-media-lgbtq-teens-harms/679798/
“How Finland Is Teaching a Generation to Spot Misinformation” 1-10-23
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/10/world/europe/finland-misinformation-classes.html
“Inside Finland’s education system” 2-24
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bgmjs6AcFjU
“Students Target Teachers in Group TikTok Attack, Shaking Their School” 7-6-24
“The Smartphone Kids Are Not All Right” 3-21-24
Social Studies
FX’s limited series Social Studies is a groundbreaking, character-driven documentary series that delves into the lives of the first generation of digital natives.
https://www.fxnetworks.com/shows/social-studies
“How Tech Created a ‘Recipe for Loneliness’” 11-10-24
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/10/technology/personaltech/technology-loneliness.html
“UK House of Commons Report
Screen time: impacts on education and wellbeing – Report Summary” 5-25-24
https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm5804/cmselect/cmeduc/118/summary.html
“I’m a 17-Year-Old TikTok Junkie. I Need This Ban” 1-19-25
“The Anti-Social Century” 1-8-25
Podcasts
Dr. Becky & Jonathan Haidt in
Conversation with Stephanie Ruhle at
92NY - Good Inside with Dr. Becky
Are Smartphones Stealing Childhood?
- Raising Parents with Emily Oster
Are We Over-Parenting Our Kids? -
Raising Parents with Emily Oster
How to Know If Your Kid Is Ready for a
Phone - Good Inside with Dr. Becky
Kids, Screens, and Schools - Parent
Data with Emily Oster
Local Organizations
Reach out to us if you’d like to connect with other families in our neighborhood who are committed to screen-free socializing, free play, and childhood independence. We are here to support you! There are a few outside groups of neighbors promoting healthy play and socialization including Tweens without Screens and a local 1000 hours outside group. Start a local play group of your own and we will support you. screenuseandwellbeing@muscota.org
Thanks,
The PA Screen Use and Well-Being Committee