Thursday, March 20, 2025
31 °
Mostly Cloudy
Log in Subscribe

All Saints and Suick Foundation bring in "Screenagers," discussing media device dependency

Posted

For the Antigo Times

On Monday, March 27, SCREENAGERS: Growing Up in The Digital Age will be shown at the Palace Theatre in Antigo. SCREENAGERS is the first feature documentary to explore the impact of screen technology on kids and to offer parents proven solutions that work, and it's is selling out audiences around the country. The show starts at 6:00pm and admission is a goodwill donation to the Antigo Community Food Pantry.

All Saints Catholic School, the Suick Foundation, and the Palace Theatre are partnering up to bring the movie to Langlade County.

"We wanted to share this timely movie with the entire community" says All Saints administrator Paul Galuska. A short discussion facilitated by parent volunteer Tonya McKenna Trabant will follow the movie.

ABOUT

Physician and filmmaker, Delaney Ruston decided to make SCREENAGERS when she found herself constantly struggling with her two kids about screen time. Ruston felt guilty and confused, not sure what limits were best, especially around mobile phones, social media, gaming, and how to monitor online homework. Hearing repeatedly how other parents were equally overwhelmed, she realized this is one of the biggest, unexplored parenting issues of our time.

Director Ruston turned the camera on her own family and others—revealing stories that depict messy struggles over social media, video games, academics and internet addiction.  Examples of stories, include Hannah’s, an 14-year old victim of social media bullying that stemmed from her trying to hide her use of social media from her mom. Issues are different for boys and girls, and the film also follows Andrew’s story, a straight-A student whose love of video games spins out of control when he goes off to college and lands in an internet rehab center.

Interwoven into these stories, are cutting edge science and insights from thought leaders such as Peggy Orenstein, Sherry Turkle, Simon Sinek, as well as leading brain scientists who present evidence on real changes happening in the brain. SCREENAGERS goes far beyond exposing the risks of screen time, but reveals multiple approaches on how parents and educators can work with kids to help them achieve a healthy amount of screen time.

SCREENAGERS is blazing a new model of distribution, known as a community viewing model, in hopes that parents and educators can start a conversation nationwide about how screen time impacts our lives.  As part of the community viewing model, parents, educators, PTAs and workplace groups can book at www.screenagersmovie.com.  Screenings can be booked on an event-by-event basis, and parents are encouraged to bring their kids to the movie.

Movie Themes

  • Use of screens in school
  • Boys and video games
  • Girls and social media
  • Risk of addiction

Stats

  • Kids spend on average 6.5 hours a day on screens and that doesn’t include classroom or homework screen time.
  • Boys spend on average the equivalent of 1.5 days on video games every week.
  • Some recent studies show us that screen time increases dopamine production and causes behavior that mimics addiction.

education, Featured, media, movie

Comments

No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here