UPDATE (Thursday, April 27, 2017): This screening has been canceled, but those with tickets will receive full refunds . Pathways Homeschool Learning Cooperative is now working with The Avielle Foundation, The Resiliency Center of Newtown, and sponsors, in letting residents know about a free screening on May 18 that will take place at Edmond Town Hall.)

* * * * *

Many parents are concerned, watching their children kids scroll through life with their rapid-fire thumbs and a six-second attention spans. The average kid spends 6½ hours a day looking at screens, leading many adults to worry about the impact of this phenomenon on academics, and social and family life.

Screenagers: Living in the Digital Age is a new documentary that explores contemporary struggles over social media, video games, academics, and internet addiction. Through poignant, yet unexpectedly funny stories, along with surprising insights from authors, psychologists, and brain scientists, this film reveals how "tech-time" impacts kids' development and offers some solutions regarding how adults can empower kids to best navigate the digital world and find a healthy balance.

Pathways Homeschool Learning Cooperative will host a screening of the documentary Screenagers on Thursday, May 7. The 7 pm screening will be offered at Newtown Congregational Church, 14 West Street.

Cost is $10 for adults, $5 for young adults (and young adults must be accompanied by an adult) in advance. At the door, tickets will be $12 and $7, respectively. All profits will go to Newtown-based charities.eventbrite.com/d/ct-newtown/events.

Space is limited, so advance ticket purchase is being recommended. Tickets can be purchased online through

A panel discussion and Q&A session will also be part of the special event.

Melissa Prevey, co-founder of the Pathways Homeschool Cooperative, says all parents struggle with and worry about the amount of time their children spend staring at screens.

"The media challenges our kids face today are unprecedented, and let's face it, we really don't know what the long-term effects may be on brain development, not to mention how it can affect social and academic development at extremely vulnerable stages," said Ms Prevey. "We are proud to bring this valuable and salient film to our community because we know most parents are looking for information and solutions."

How worried should parents be about the amount of time their children and teens spend staring at screens? Children and youth today simply do not interact with the world, and more importantly, each other, the way they once did.

"Abusing and sometimes compulsively using our smartphones can be a real problem," explains Dr David Greenfield, founder of The Center for Internet Technology.

"It can lead to a marked reduction in real-time social interaction as our capacity and desire for regular face-to-face conversation decreases," added Dr Greenfield, an internet addiction and assistant clinical professor of psychiatry at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine and one of the panelists for the screening event.

"Smartphones fill in those little gaps, gaps of timelessness where creativity occurs and new ideas are born, where spontaneous interactions can occur, where we have an opportunity to relax, reflect, or talk to somebody," Dr Greenfield added. "It may not have the same physiological consequences as something like alcohol or drug addiction, but smartphone addiction works the same way. Irresistible urges, inability to stop using compulsively, withdrawal when you don't have it, and increased tolerance which leads to using it more and more."

Belinha De Abreu, PhD, who will also be one of the evening's panelists, says she has witnessed the world of media change drastically among the tweens and teens she works with. A media literacy educator, and international expert to the Forum on Media & Information Literacy for UNESCO, Dr De Abreu says educating kids and youth can go a long way to helping them make their own smart choices.

"Our youth live in a media-saturated and device-driven world, so it's critical they are taught to be literate in this realm and knowledgeable about both its positive and potentially detrimental and even dangerous aspects," she said. "Arming youth with accurate information allows them to apply critical thinking skills to their own media use, thus hopefully decreasing the amount of family and academic conflict."

Meanwhile, Professor Gregory Golda, another of the evening's planned panelists, says many adults are "woefully neglectful in exhibiting appropriate modeling of healthy media use."

A faculty members of Sacred Heart University's School of Communication and Media Arts, Dr Golda added: "It's not just our youth that have been sucked into this Pavlovian-like addiction to our phones and all the news and social media they connect us to. We need to do a better job of understanding our own relationship with media so we can better guide our own children and students."

Professor Golda will serve as the panel's moderator.

Laura Cleary, MSW, social worker, parent educator, and parent coach who has been a consultant for Sandy Hook Promise, among others, will also be on the evening's panel. A Connecticut State Police Cyber-Safety & Distracted Driving Expert is also expected to participate.

For additional information contact Diane Samples, co-founder, Pathways Homeschool Learning Cooperative, at dianesamples@me.com or 203-770-8670.

[mappress mapid="720"]