Aristoi Classical Academy, a tuition-free, public charter school serving Katy, West Houston, and Cypress, invites the public to view Screenagers NEXT CHAPTER: Uncovering Skills for Stress Resilience. The film will be shown on December 7th @ 6:30 PM in Aristoi’s Griffin Center at 5610 Morton Road.
Aristoi hosted SCREENAGERS: Growing Up in the Digital Age documentary in February 2020. Screenagers NEXT CHAPTER is a follow-up to that documentary and provides solutions for the stress, anxiety, and depression caused by screen usage, and ideas for what parents and the community can do to help. The Aristoi Classical Academy 2021 Topgolf fundraiser, which was well-supported by Aristoi parents and the community, has made it possible for the school to offer this showing. More than $3,000 was raised specifically to support training for social and emotional health for the Aristoi community.
Lynn Cummins, MS, says, “At Aristoi, our families are top priority. The ability to host this documentary and share this information is of the utmost importance to our administration, faculty, and staff. Screens and electronics are enormous issues that impact every facet of our lives and the lives of our students. In this age of endless screens and countless electronics, nothing is more important than navigating the digital world with our children. SCREENAGERS sheds light on these issues and how all the iPads, iPods, cell phones, apps, games, and social media, are linked to mental and emotional issues that impact our children.”
Aristoi superintendent, Brenda Davidson agrees, saying, “How our children, and parents, manage screen time is critical in helping our students become responsible citizens of virtuous character. The statistics and mental health reports show that screens are damaging our children physically, mentally, and emotionally. Providing more insight about this epidemic to students and their families is crucial to their well-being. This is another way in which we walk alongside our families in this educational journey.”
Facts from SCREENAGERS Next Chapter include:
- Since 2011, there has been a 59% increase in teens reporting depressive symptoms
- Scientific data shows that 2+ hours a day on social media correlates with a higher chance of having unhappy feelings
- Teens say their main way ofcoping with stress is to turn to a screen—this is concerning for many reasons and we need to ensure they have other coping skills
- Some schools are implementing innovative programs, such as wellness clubs,where teens teach their peers essential communication skills, like conflict resolution and relationship building
- State of the art therapies,including mindfulness, exposure therapy, and behavior activation, are being used to successfully treat anxiety and depression and yet many teens and adults don’t know that these proven interventions exist
- When teens suppress emotions, research shows it negatively impacts their school work and other cognitive tasks
Seating is free (children ages 11 and up are invited) and general admission; the doors open at 6:00 PM. Please pre-register so we can reserve your seat.