Today’s children are growing up in a world unlike any before, for better and for worse. Technology and digital media shape nearly every moment of their lives. From parents checking their phones, their first video chat with Grandma, their first tablet, their first smartphone, their first social media account or viral trend – digital experiences are woven into how children learn, play, connect, and grow. But alongside the opportunities come new risks. What are the impacts of the new digital ecosystem that surround childhood? Has technology lived up to its promise? Most importantly, what responsibility do we have in ensuring healthy digital lives for all children? In this special session, explore the new digital ecology of childhood, the decisions that build it, and what it will take to change it.
Kris Perry, MSW, is the Executive Director of Children and Screens: Institute of Digital Media and Child Development, a leading research and education nonprofit in the field of digital media’s impacts on children and adolescents and the host of its Webby Award-nominated educational programs, the Screen Deep podcast and Ask the Experts webinar series. Prior to her current role, she has led systems change efforts at the local, state and national levels in her roles as Senior Advisor to Governor Gavin Newsom of California and Deputy Secretary of the California Health and Human Services Agency, and Executive Director of First 5 San Mateo, First 5 California and of the First Five Years Fund. Recognized in the California Social Workers Hall of Distinction, Perry has fought to protect children, improve and expand early learning programs, and increase investments in low-income children. Perry was instrumental in returning marriage equality to California after the landmark 2013 U.S. Supreme Court ruling Hollingsworth v. Perry, which she wrote about in her book Love on Trial (Roaring Forties Press, 2017).
Additional Resources / Optional Pre-Work
Screen Deep Podcast Episodes
- Early Childhood Development and Screen Use | Dimitri Christakis, MD, MPH
- Reading and Writing Skills in the Age of AI | Naomi Baron, PhD
- Language Development, Learning, and Play in Early Childhood | Kathy Hirsh-Pasek, PhD
- Parent Media Use, Technoference, and Its Effects on Children | Brandon McDaniel, PhD
- More Screen Deep!
Ask the Experts Webinars
- Early Childhood Mental Health and Digital Media
- Zero to Five: Eeny, Meeny, Mighty Tech
- AI and Children: Risks and Opportunities of the Enhanced Internet
- Finding Words: Language Development and Screen Use
- More Ask the Experts!
Research at a Glance
Visit our “Learn and Explore” library for additional resources.