… is the motto of the Handbook of Children and Screens. Digital Media, Development, and Well-Being from Birth Through Adolescence. This open access handbook was edited by Dimitri A. Christakis (Seattle Children’s Research Institute/University of Washington) and Lauren Hale (School of Medicine Stony Brook University). It summarizes the insights of nearly 400 (!) international leading experts across the fields of pediatrics, psychiatry, psychology, epidemiology, communication, neuroscience, sociology, history, legal studies, social work, human development and family studies, gender studies, African American studies, education, information technology and design, and more.
First, it addresses the cognitive, physical, mental, and psychosocial impacts on infants, children, and adolescents. Next, the book explores how media influences relationships, family, culture, and society. Finally, it examines the impacts of specific digital domains pertinent to youth, including education technology, video gaming, and emerging technologies. Chapters employ a parallel structure, including background on the topic, summary of the current state of the research, future research directions, and recommendations for relevant stakeholders. The volume examines the timely issue of optimal child development in an increasingly digital age, offering innovative approaches to establish a solid and robust scientific foundation for this field of study as well as evidence-based action for adults who support positive youth development.
Key areas of coverage include:
- Cognition and brain development.
- Physical and mental health.
- Problematic uses of the internet.
- Race.
- Gender and sexuality.
- Parenting in the digital age.
- Cyberbullying and digital cruelty.
- Media policy.
Operating in a closely related field, Tech & Teens complements this broad international perspective with empirically grounded insights from a specific national context. Based on survey data collected exclusively from respondents in the Czech Republic, Tech & Teens examines how children and adolescents experience, use, and negotiate digital technologies in their everyday lives. While the Handbook of Children and Screens synthesizes global research across disciplines, Tech & Teens contributes in-depth, context-sensitive findings that highlight how broader trends in digital media use are shaped by cultural, social, and educational frameworks at the national level. Together, both resources offer valuable and mutually reinforcing perspectives for understanding children’s and adolescents’ digital well-being.
Introduced by Margret Albers (originally in January 2025, Updated in July 2025)