EMPOWERING DIGITAL WELLNESS FOR KIDS | October 2024

Greetings Friend of the Lab,

We’re excited to announce the release of the Digital Wellness Lab’s latest white paper, Connected Play: Adolescent Gaming and Perceived Loneliness.

This in-depth report — commissioned by the Ruderman Family Foundation and debuted at TwitchCon — sheds light on how social gaming affects U.S. teens (ages 13-17), with a focus on loneliness, toxic interactions, and the gender differences that influence gaming behaviors.

Key findings include:

Loneliness & Gaming: Adolescents experiencing loneliness tend to game more frequently and report more unsafe social interactions. While it is still not entirely clear whether loneliness leads to more gaming or vice versa, these associations offer important insights on how to maximize the benefits of gaming on teenagers' social wellbeing.

Gender Dynamics: Boys are more likely to game with strangers, while girls often game with friends or family. Boys feeling lonely are more likely than girls with similar feelings to turn to gaming, highlighting gaming as a potential coping mechanism for them.

Implications:  Gaming is not just entertainment; it is a significant social avenue for adolescents, providing opportunities to extend social networks and build and maintain relationships. Parents, educators, and technology companies should leverage the positive potential of gaming while addressing unsafe and toxic interactions that may reinforce feelings of social isolation.

“When it comes to leveraging gaming’s potential as a social platform that minimizes loneliness, it is our hope that key stakeholders — including young people, their parents, and the tech industry — can utilize this white paper’s multifaceted findings to encourage positive, safe, and socially fulfilling online gaming experiences for adolescents.”

JAY RUDERMAN, President, Ruderman Family Foundation

We invite you to read more about our research results and the implications for game design, parenting, and youth mental health.

All our best,

Cori Stott
Executive Director
The Digital Wellness Lab

Resources for Parents & Caregivers

WHAT THE SCIENCE SAYS: SMARTPHONES IN SCHOOLS

What the research tells us about smartphone use in schools, plus some thoughts for administrators as they work to determine what’s right for their schools and districts.

Read Guide →

ONLINE GEN-Z SLANG: SHOULD PARENTS STUDY UP?

Geo, a member of our 2023-24 Student Advisory Council, shares that when it comes to digital wellbeing and technology, the adult view that the absence of devices is optimal, is unidimensional and unrealistic for today’s youth.

Read Post →

CHILDREN’S VIEWS ON GAMING

This brief explores research that centers children’s and adolescents’ own views about video games in order to create a clearer understanding of why so many youth play, and deeply enjoy, video games.

Read Brief →

BENEFITS OF VIDEO GAME PLAY: CONTENT AND CONTEXT MATTER

Sam Schwamm, Research Manager at the Lab, explains why it is time to leave behind the dichotomy of video games as either positive or negative and focus instead on promoting wellness among young people in this new digital environment.

Read Post →

We believe that by following the science, we can create an empathetic and respectful world in which our kids can grow up healthy, smart, and kind.

What’s Happening in October

— Clinicians from the Clinic for Interactive Media and Internet Disorders (CIMAID) will lead a CME course addressing methods for identification and treatment of Problematic Interactive Media Use (PIMU). Register now

— Dr. Michael Rich will be a guest speaker at Dr. Linda Charmaraman’s Wellesley College seminar about social tech and adolescent development.

— On October 10th, we’re promoting World Mental Health Day  to raise awareness of mental health issues around the world and to mobilize efforts in support of youth mental health.

— Dr. David Bickham, the Lab’s Research Director, will be presenting a paper titled “Development and validation of a screener for problematic interactive media use among adolescents” during the APHA’s Annual Meeting. Learn more

— College student and Summer 2024 Research Assistant Alicia Owens will be speaking as a member of a youth panel during Pinterest’s Halloween Bash in Washington, DC, speaking about key topics of youth safety and wellbeing online.

If you have friends, family, and colleagues who could benefit from this newsletter, please pass it on and encourage them to sign up to receive it themselves. Thank you!