Local organization Westborough Connects has shown one of the three sessions of “Screenagers” so far. This took place on October 25th in the high school auditorium after weeks of hard work and advertising. The informational event yielded around 280 potential registrants. The turnout of families, parents, and teenagers was nice to see and showed that our community had an interest in learning something productive and new.
After session one, we heard from Dr. Safdar Medina, a local pediatrician, on his perspective and insight on how screen usage is a rising concern for parents. He spoke about his struggles as a father, and how he is navigating the stress of screens on his children. He made it clear that the parents in the room were not alone. With that, there were small group conversations after the film that allowed parents to ask students from Westborough High how they think parents should regulate their children’s use of screen time in a productive way. There was an emphasis on the importance of communication and how children should have the opportunity to talk about what they are feeling to their parents openly and honestly.
As we are approaching the end of November, we will see two more sessions of the films. “The Next Chapter,” which will be played on November 28th, 7-9 pm back in the high school auditorium, is the second film out of three and will focus on youth mental health.
“It doesn’t focus too much on screens, per se. It is more about youth mental health in the context of this digital world you are all growing up in,” says Executive Director of Westborough Connects, Kelley Petralia.
We will see Dr. Medina, alongside school psychologists and the Director of Social Emotional Learning, Kim Tynan after the film for more discussions on how to grow as a community. Organizers hope to see more families with younger children present this time around for them to feel supported with the resources being given to them.
You can learn more about the upcoming event by clicking this link and can register for free now. We hope to see you there.
