Seneca Valley presents “Screenagers: Elementary School Age Edition” with Dr. Kristen White

In this episode, we’re discussing a topic that impacts families everywhere: screen time and its effects on children. Listen as Dr. Kristen White, Haine Elementary School Principal shares about the upcoming event “Screenagers: Elementary School Age Edition,” a film featuring the latest research, expert insights and practical advice for parents and guardians of elementary-aged students.

Don’t miss the free community screening of “Screenagers: Elementary School Age Edition” at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 19 in the Haine Elementary School Cafeteria. This event is open to parents/guardians, staff and members of the public. Seating is limited to 400 attendees, and RSVP is encouraged. Please note: this screening is intended for adults only; students and children should not attend.

IN THIS EPISODE, WE WILL REVIEW

• What is “Screenagers: Elementary School Age Edition” 
• Why it's important to focus specifically on elementary-aged children when talking about screen use and digital habits 
• When and where the filming event will take place
• Why parents/guardians should attend this free event 
• How to register
• See below for more information:
  • "Screenagers: Elementary School Age Edition"
  • RSVP

SPECIAL GUEST
Dr. Kristen White, Haine Elementary School Principal

With 32 years of experience in education, Dr. White emphasizes a whole-child approach to learning and is committed to cultivating an inclusive environment in which all children can succeed.

Transcript

FULL TRANSCRIPT (with timecode)

00:00:02:26 - 00:00:10:20
Welcome to Voices, a national award-winning podcast brought to you by the Seneca Valley School District. 

00:00:11:10 - 00:00:32:21
Jeff Krakoff: This is Jeff Krakoff. Today we're going to be talking about an important topic. It's screen time, and it probably doesn't matter if you're very young or even if you're very old. We know that there are some effects of too much screen time on people. So today my guest is principal of Haine Elementary, Dr. Kristen White. Thanks for joining us. 

00:00:32:27 - 00:00:34:03
Kristen White: Thank you for having me. 

00:00:34:06 - 00:00:49:20
Jeff Krakoff: So I know the topic is there's a relatively new movie out. It's a sequel to "Screenagers". Can we just start telling me about "Screenagers" and the series and what this new movie is all about? 

00:00:49:24 - 00:01:17:22
Kristen White: Sure. The original "Screenagers" really focused on the digital age, on our teenagers, specifically looking at social media, video games, internet addiction and academics, whereas our new "Screenagers: Elementary Age Edition" is specifically tailored for parents of our elementary school age children, focusing on unique challenges and our developmental needs of our younger students. 

00:01:18:02 - 00:01:23:13
Jeff Krakoff: Okay, so what are some of the negative effects of too much screen time? 

00:01:24:02 - 00:02:58:21
Kristen White: We're definitely seeing an increase in our students and their anxiety. Um, specifically, since 2023, our district has really been focused on gradually introducing procedures to reduce personal device use in our schools based on what we know about our students. Yeah. Um, knowing that they weren't feeling as connected with their peers, um, they were distracted. So we really have been focused on those areas. And when we moved to 2025-26 school year, we had our Phone Free SV rollout, which has been a K-12 focus so that our students can really engage with each other and navigate those social interactions and not be pulled from the focus of their classes by what's going on in social media, who's texting. And I need that immediate response to get back to our students. So we're definitely seeing that daily impact on not only our students, but quite honestly on all of us as adults, too. So we're trying to do a better job of making sure we're modeling those different ways that we are connected, that we're connecting with each other and our students so that we can make sure essential skills that our students need moving forward, such as collaboration, communication, self-regulation, responsibility, empathy and critical thinking are really what we're encouraging are encouraging our students to use throughout the day. 

00:02:58:25 - 00:03:12:01
Jeff Krakoff: Okay, so the original "Screenagers" came out several years ago. This one, again, is the elementary school age edition. Why is it so important to focus specifically on this age group of elementary age. 

00:03:12:15 - 00:04:13:12
Kristen White: Sure. By beginning these conversations early with our families, it's important that we're all in this together with a strong partnership with our community, with our school community, and we really want to make sure our families know they aren't out there on their own, because it's very difficult to say as a parent, no, you can't have a cell phone or no, you can't have that certain app unless you have that support from your friends, from other parents in that. And we're hoping by doing that, this addition does talk about that and how to really support all of our children and saying, there's a group that you have with each other that will make a commitment to not have cell phones so that your child doesn't necessarily feel left out. Everybody else has that, I don't. Um, so we want to make sure that we're supporting as a school community what that looks like. Um, and also partnering with our families and community to know that we're all in this together. 

00:04:13:23 - 00:04:29:03
Jeff Krakoff: Okay. So what was the motivation to bring this into Haine Elementary? I know you discussed it's an issue and it affects pretty much everybody, but is there anything in particular it said, hey, this is something our students have to say. And their parents. 

00:04:29:05 - 00:05:42:21
Kristen White: Right. Um, this is a parent event for us. Um, over the past several years, I think we have all seen this impact, um, as I share not just on our, on our children, but certainly on us as adults as well. Many educators have independently been focusing on this for themselves as well as for their students. Um, the reading "The Anxious Generation," which has really been a good book for, um, our conversations and sparked some good conversations on how we can better support our youngest learners. So we really when I saw this, um, I am old enough to remember the original "Screenagers" , and when I saw that this came out as an elementary edition, it was just a good way for us to begin a deeper conversation with all of our families, K-6 and connecting with all of the elementary buildings. Not just here at Hain, but it is a K-6 family event. I'm sorry, case for K-6 families so that we help to share what we know about that research with our families and how we can commit to supporting the well-being of our children. 

00:05:42:24 - 00:05:54:21
Jeff Krakoff: Okay, so again, this is not for elementary students, but parents guardians. Uh, who else? I imagine staff, the community at large. What's in it for all those audience groups? 

00:05:54:25 - 00:07:12:27
Kristen White: Sure. Well, um, all of our, um, families can definitely benefit parents and guardians, as well as Seneca Valley staff members. We know that from research that we're in the midst of a national youth mental health crisis, and we know that we need to support Um, our the rates of anxiety and depression and self-harm that have significantly risen since 2010. And if we look at why that may have started, there's a strong correlation with smartphones, social media, all of those pieces that really are coming into our children's daily lives. So we are all seeing what we need to work with, with our students. And our teachers have a lot that they are facing. As far as we're not a video game, we don't have those different pieces. And really getting back to what does it mean to connect with each other as students and build those really important skills, um, that that we need to have. So we want to continue to share with our community to model for our students and to open this up to anyone in our community that is interested in learning more about this, so that we have a central mission to supporting our students. 

00:07:13:00 - 00:07:41:00
Jeff Krakoff: Yeah, as adults, I'm sure we can all identify with this, right? I remember not that long ago I lost my phone for a day. My initial reaction was, oh my God, I'm freaking out. I'm going to miss everything. Who's going to be able to get in touch with me? And then halfway into the day, I thought, this is really freeing and calming. And actually it was a pretty good day. So I get what you're saying. So how about all the details? When is it? Where is it? 

00:07:41:02 - 00:07:54:09
Kristen White: Sure. The events taking place here at Haine and our cafeteria. As I shared, it's K-6. It's a district focus. Um, for parents and guardians on Thursday, February 19th. From 6-7 P.M. 

00:07:54:11 - 00:08:09:10
Jeff Krakoff: Okay. And I'm guessing, like most indoor school events, seating is not unlimited. So, um, how quickly should people, uh, sign up and register for this? And how do they do it? Where do they go? 

00:08:09:12 - 00:08:34:03
Kristen White: Sure. We have seating is limited to the first 400 individuals who register. We still have space as of now. So I welcome anyone to go to the registration information, which is available on the district website that includes both the QR code and direct registration link. We also have additional details and reminders that will be shared from each elementary building in the coming week. 

00:08:34:07 - 00:08:58:02
Jeff Krakoff: Yeah, it sounds like it's going to be great night. So again, this will be “Screenagers: Elementary School Age Edition,” at Haine Elementary School in the cafeteria on Thursday, February 19th at 6 p.m.. Right. So everybody register now. Register soon. And is there anything else? Uh, Dr. White, what do you would like to talk about before I let you go? 

00:08:58:04 - 00:09:16:15
Kristen White: We just welcome everyone to come and appreciate. We know that time is very limited, but we want you to be focused on this important topic with us. So in partnership, we can really wrap our arms around our children and do the very best that we can to protect them in this very scary digital time. 

00:09:16:17 - 00:09:23:27
Jeff Krakoff: All right. Well, thanks so much again for joining us. That was Doctor Kristen White, principal at Haine Elementary. Have a great day.