2018 DIGITAL MEDIA AND DEVELOPING MINDS CONGRESS

CO-SPONSORED BY:

CHILDREN AND SCREENS: INSTITUTE OF DIGITAL MEDIA AND
CHILD DEVELOPMENT & COLD SPRING HARBOR LABORATORY

Children and Screens joined forces with Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory to convene nearly 200 of the world's most experienced researchers, scientists, clinicians, and other experts at the intersection of digital media and child development for a four-day interdisciplinary Congress. Thank you to all who participated in this highly productive meeting. Please click the icons below for Congress highlights.

About the Congress
Executive Summary
Meet the Speakers
Congress Organizers
Talks and Panels
Agenda
Welcome Reception
Opening Remarks
Meet the Editors
Tools and Methodologies Exposition
Flash Talks
Poster Session
Gallery
Reviews and Testimonials
Videos
Workgroup Breakout Sessions
 
Bookstore
Closing Remarks
 
 
 
 
 
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Executive Summary

Digital Media — laptop computers, iPads, iPods, and smartphones as well as other current and future electronic devices — are and will continue to be our children's constant companions. “The times, they've been changin’. ” Just a few years ago, children generally accessed words, images, sounds, and ideas (‘content’) in settings, or through channels, that adults could easily control.

However, this is no longer so. Children now grow up with portable, relatively low-cost, ‘personal’ devices that can and do go far from parental supervision.

Featured Clips

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"...Children born today are not just digital natives, they're AI natives. They are living in a world, growing up in a world where they have always been able to interact with intelligent machines."

Cynthia Breazeal, Sc.D.
Associate Professor of Media Arts and Sciences,
MIT Media Lab

"The first rule for technology, of course, must be to do no harm, especially for kids. And we have a lot to learn about how technology affects children. That's why I introduced the children and media research advancement, or CAMRA Act, and I've partnered with Democrat and Republican senators, senator Sass, Blunt, Collins, Shots, and Bennett, on this legislation because the legislation has to be bipartisan."

Senator Ed Markey
D-Massachusetts

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Reviews

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Paul Weigle, M.D.

Psychiatrist and Associate Medical Director/President at Natchaug Hospital

Bringing together so many of the world's foremost thought leaders from various fields on the effects of screen media on the health and development of youth is unique and incredibly impactful. The resulting breadth and depth of scientific discourse was enormously informative and inspiring. The ability to converse and network among experts of such varied knowledge and perspectives was truly remarkable.

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Brad Bushman, PhD

The Ohio State University

...I learned so much about topics that I do not study. Practice is most likely to be effective when it is built on a firm foundation of science. Most often progress is made when people can collaborate and combine their different skills and talents to solve a common problem. This conference made significant progress toward that goal.

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Katia Delrahim-Howlett, Ph.D., M.P.P., M.B.A.

National Institutes of Health

I wanted to express my appreciation again for the very engaging and informative conference. I enjoyed the discussions and the opportunity to hear updates from the field as well as balancing viewpoints. Look forward to learning more in the future.

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Monique LeBourgeois, PhD

University of Colorado Boulder

This Congress was absolutely invigorating! The breadth and depth of science, recommendations, and policy implications were rich. I learned more about digital media in a few days than I could in a year of reading. Anyone caring for, studying, or invested in child development in the digital age needs to attend. I can’t wait for the next meeting!

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Tom Hummer, PhD

Indiana University

I enjoy the variety of digital media research presented - learning more about adjacent topics and tools.

Guilherme Borges, PhD

Instituto Nacional de Psiquiatria

I enjoyed very much the diversity and broadness of the meeting and the participants. It was quite an unexpected experience to see, hear, and discuss with so many different people and approaches. I am leaving quite enriched with the experience. Needless to say, the organization and facilities were great! Congratulations to Pam and the team.

Emily Weinstein, EdD

Harvard University

The Congress was among the best professional meetings I have attended. The cross-disciplinary discussion, carefully curated set of presentations, breadth of relevant topics covered, new methods and tools introduced, multi-modal presentation structure, and participant group all made for a terrifically valuable and engaging few days. The Congress was also impeccably planned! I appreciated the inclusion of researchers at different stages of their careers, and the deliberate addition of non-researcher voices. It was a privilege to be included.

Dillon Browne, PhD

University of Waterloo

Feedback from the conference was instrumental in presenting a stronger methodological argument.

Vicky Rideout

VJR Consulting

I was exposed to experts from fields I don’t normally interact with, and learned a lot from them.