International Panel of Experts Explores Effects of Digital Media On Developing Minds

It’s a question that troubles parents everywhere: What effect is digital media having on the brains and development of children?On Thursday May 16, a group of international experts convened in the Charles B. Wang Center theater to tackle the question. Moderated by Dimitri Christakis, MD, MPH, Editor-in-Chief of JAMA Pediatrics and Director of the Center for Child Health, Behavior and Development at Seattle Children’s Research Institute, the panel included five experts who offered insight on how to deal with a challenge parents around the globe face today: the ubiquitous presence of screens in the lives of children and how this unprecedented volume of media consumption may be affecting and shaping them. The discussion, which encouraged participation from the lively near-full house in attendance, opened with a familiar question virtually every parent confronts: What is the appropriate age to give a child their own cell phone? “The average age of kids getting a cell phone is around 10-11,” said Sheri Madigan, assistant professor of Clinical Psychology and director of the Determinants of Child Development Lab, University of Calgary. “Unfortunately, there is no hard guideline. You have to determine what is going to work for your child. Can they manage it? Can they disengage when they need to?”