After a successful showing of a film showing the issues associated with screen technology and teenagers, Sampson County Schools is ready to show the sequel.

“Screenagers NEXT CHAPTER: Uncovering Skills for Stress Resilience is scheduled for 7 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 14 at the Sampson Expo Center, 401 Warsaw Road, Clinton. The film will show the science behind the emotional challenges, the interplay of social media, and what can be done in schools and home to help build skills to navigate stress, anxiety, and depression in digital age.

In November, the district showed “Screenagers: Growing up in the Digital Age” at the Expo Center. It was created by physician and filmmaker Delaney Ruston and was the first feature documentary to show the impact of screen technology. For the NEXT CHAPTER, she challenged with her own teens as they struggle with their emotional well-being.

Dr. Linda Jewell Carr, SCS assistant superintendent of Instructional Services, is welcoming the public to attend again. She believes the film will help adults as well.

“We want to encourage everyone to attend,” Carr said. “They don’t necessarily need a teenager in the house for it to be applicable. It talks about screen addiction and that’s just as prevalent for adults as it is on youths.

“I think the cry for society is that if we don’t change the habit of our younger generation, we are actually letting screens dictate who they will be in the future,” Carr added. “They’re letting marketing structure their thinking.”

According to facts from the film, since 2011, there has been a 59 percent increase in teens reporting depressive symptoms and scientific data shows that two hours a day on social media is associated with a higher chance of unhappy feelings.

“The film has been produced by professionals that see it as an epidemic for today’s world,” she said. “We just need to educate ourselves, so that we can think about our own behaviors. But I think it would be something everyone enjoy, rather they have children as a parent, or if they’re concerned about their nieces and nephews, or even themselves. “

During the first showing, Carr said it was interesting to see students interested in what experts had to say. Some of the featured experts in the film are Daniel Pine, chief psychiatrist for the National Institute of Mental Health; Ronald E. Dahl, chief sciences officer for the Center on the Developing Adolescents at the University of California Berkeley; and Dan Siegel, director of Mindful Awareness Research Center at the University of California, Los Angeles.

“It was different hearing it from experts than it was from your mom,” Carr said. “That to me is what resonated with the young people and educators were glad for the opportunity to expand their own learning.”

Carr said messages will be sent to parents as well.

“It also gave some strategies to meet in the middle. It’s not like we’re saying don’t use phones, but maybe how to monitor when and where and for how long.”

For more information about the film, visit www.screenagersmovie.com

Carr
https://www.clintonnc.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/web1_dr-carr.jpgCarr
Documentary focuses on screen, social media addiction

By Chase Jordan

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Reach Chase Jordan at 910-249-4617. Follow us on Twitter at @SampsonInd and like us on Facebook.