 Global Integration UpdatesCommon Ground for the Common Good
Special News--September 2018ScreenagersGrowing Up in the Digital Age “An award winning film that explores the vulnerable corners of family life and depicts messy struggles over social media, video games and academics. The film offers solutions on how we can help our kids navigate the digital world.” (film website) In this Special News Update we feature the film Screenagers and the related weekly weblog Tech Talk Tuesdays, by Delaney Ruston, M.D. How do we help our kids, grand kids, students, and really ourselves, use the internet wisely--without the internet using us? How can we use the internet to positively shape the values, relationships, and health of our youth?
Although focusing mainly on the USA context, we believe these two engaging and informative resources are very relevant for colleagues in many international settings. We also find them to positively contribute to discussing and developing the types of values needed for "growing up (in the digital age) as global citizens." Have a good look at the materials below and the many Screenagers resources!Our Perspectives
We see the internet and tech as great tools that can be used positively or negatively, for human enhancement or for human exploitation. In general it is not the internet per se that is the problem. It is humans, including ourselves.
We have to protect ourselves, of course, from a lot of things in this world. And we teach our children to do the same: look both ways before you cross the street and don't play with matches are two classic examples. The internet is one of those things: look both ways before you cross into the internet highway...and keep on looking. Don't play with things on the internet (both content and time) that can burn you and others.
Use the internet wisely--and teach kids to do the same. Warm greetings from Geneva,
Kelly and Michèle   Share your comments and resources on our Facebook page
Featured ResourceScreenagersGrowing Up in the Digital AgeFilm, Weekly Blog, and Resources from Delaney Ruston, M.D.  Screenagers: Growing Up in the Digital Age (documentary film, one hour)
“Are you watching kids scroll through life, with their rapid-fire thumbs and a six-second attention span? Physician and filmmaker Delaney Ruston saw that with her own kids and learned that the average kid spends 6.5 hours a day looking at screens. She wondered about the impact of all this time and about the friction occurring in homes and schools around negotiating screen time—friction she knew all too well.
In SCREENAGERS, as with her award-winning documentaries on mental health [e.g., Hidden Pictures: A Personal Journey into Global Mental Health], Delaney takes a deeply personal approach as she probes into the vulnerable corners of family life, including her own, to explore struggles over social media, video games, academics and internet addiction. Through poignant and unexpectedly funny stories, along with surprising insights from authors, psychologists, and brain scientists, SCREENAGERS reveals how tech time impacts kids’ development and offers solutions on how adults can empower kids to best navigate the digital world and find balance.”(images and description from the film website) Watch the film trailer—click HERE.
See the website to find or host a film screening.
Tech Talk Tuesdays
The Screenagers Blog
 Tech Talk Tuesdays (TTT). In this blog…”Dr. Ruston shares her family’s weekly topics to help you manage and decrease struggles around screen time. Subscribe to her TTT to receive conversation starters about social media, video game use, tech tips, latest research and more. TTTs work any day but the key is to stick with it. Calm, consistent conversations about screen time can improve family and classroom dynamics. Get kids more invested in TTTs by starting each conversation with a positive about screen time. You can print any of the TTTs [easily]…” (quoted material from website) Sign up for the TTTs HERE.
Below are three recent examples (excerpts from the opening paragraphs).
When Kids Swear Online (24 September 2018)
It turns out swearing is on the rise according to this study. Even without a study, we know that through all the media and social media youth are exposed to these days, they are seeing swear words like never before. That’s where our work as loving adults is required. It is crucial that we take the time to have short, calm conversations about key topics, like this one. This study found that fewer than half of U.S. parents regularly discuss social media content with their pre-teens or teens. Let’s be among those parents that do address it.
Tips from Teens on Reducing Screen Time (18 August 2018)
Question to ask kids and teens:
"If one were to survey teens, what percentage of teens would say that they are concerned about excessive screen time among teens?"
Then share this:
The Pew Research Center just released the results of a survey from 743 teens and reports “Roughly nine-in-ten teens view spending too much time online as a problem facing people their age, including 60% who say it is a major problem.”…
Failing at Screen Rules? Read This (7 August 2018)
Are you failing with screen rules? You are not alone. As parents, we are up against a technology revolution that is so strong that it can genuinely overpower all aspects of our lives, including our parenting lives.
I often talk with and receive emails from parents who are incredibly frustrated by their inability to set limits for their teens that actually get followed. When kids are younger than around 11—and this varies of course—we have a lot more facility and success at setting limits. The parents from whom I hear the loudest cries of desperation are those with teens. I can relate because I have two and I still have my share of struggles…
More Resources from Screenagers The Screenagers website also includes a Resource section with areas on screen time contracts, pro-social video games, digital citizenship, afterschool activities, parenting apps, internet addiction, etc. There is also a section with media interviews and coverage as well as information on requesting to show the film in community settings.
Member Care Associates Inc. (MCA) is a non-profit, Christian organisation working internationally from Geneva and the USA. MCA's involvement in Global Integration focuses on the wellbeing and effectiveness of personnel and their organizations in the mission, humanitarian, and development sectors as well as global mental health, all with a view towards supporting sustainable development for all people and the planet. Our services include consultation, training, research, developing resources, and publications.
Global Integration is a framework for actively integrating our lives with global realities by connecting relationally and contributing relevantly on behalf of human wellbeing and the issues facing humanity, in light of our integrity and core values (e.g., ethical, humanitarian, human rights, faith-based). |
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