Children need a diverse menu of online and offline experiences, including the chance to let their minds wander. Much of what happens on screen provides “impoverished” stimulation of the developing brain compared to reality, he says. The growing human brain is constantly building neural connections while pruning away less-used ones, and digital media use plays an active role in that process, according to Rich. “It’s not how long we’re using screens that really matters it’s how we’re using them and what’s happening in our brains in response,” says Rich, director of the Center on Media and Child Health at Boston Children’s Hospital, associate professor of pediatrics at HMS, and associate professor of social and behavioral sciences at the Harvard T.H. Pediatrician Michael Rich, wants to understand how-and help children and parents manage their online behavior in this ever-changing digital landscape. While these devices can enhance learning and build community, they can also interfere with everything from sleep to creativity. Some of us can barely put them down, even when we’re with cherished family and friends.

Whether we like it or not, digital devices are everywhere.

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