Anya Kamenetz
Education journalist, author, and advisor to the Aspen Institute
The Art of Screen Time: How Your Family Can Balance Digital Media and Real Life
“Enjoy screens. Not too much. Mostly with others.” This brief but powerful dictum forms the backbone of National Public Radio lead digital education correspondent Anya Kamentz’s philosophy in The Art of Screen Time: How Families Can Balance Digital Media and Real Life.
The newest generation of children is exposed to more technology than any previous generation. They are photographed with smartphones from the moment they’re born, and begin interacting with screens at around four months old. Researchers have been quick to declare this the dawn of a neurological and emotional crisis, but solid science on the subject is surprisingly hard to come by. The truth is there’s no road map for navigating this territory.
Ms. Kamenetz candidly addresses her own parental worries and tackles them head on by surveying hundreds of fellow parents on their practices and ideas and cutting through a thicket of inconclusive studies and overblown claims. Most importantly, she discovers that the crucial questions of digital parenting aren’t only about our kids. They’re about our use of digital media, too. Are you embraced by the virtual village or menaced by the cyber mob? Is the phone a magical work-life balancer or a constantly bleeping attention-sucker? Is it a babysitter or source of fun, wonder and excitement for the entire family?
Event Sponsors
- Baker Demonstration School
- Beacon Academy
- Chiaravalle Montessori School
- Chicago Waldorf School
- Counseling Center of the North Shore
- Countryside Day School
- Erikson Institute
- Family Service Center
- Family Service of Glencoe
- Glencoe D35
- Haven Youth and Family Services
- The Joseph Sears School
- New Trier Parents’ Association
- The Family Institute at Northwestern University
- Wolcott College Prep

Upcoming Events
After the Spike: Population, Progress, and the Case for People
Michael Geruso, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Economics at the University of Texas at Austin
Katy Milkman, Ph.D.
James G. Dinan Professor at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania
ON ZOOM
Having It All: What Data Tells Us About Women’s Lives and Getting the Most Out of Yours
Corinne Low, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Business Economics and Public Policy at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania
Jessica Calarco, Ph.D.
Professor of Sociology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison
ON ZOOM
Mastery: Why Deeper Learning is Essential in an Age of Distraction
Tony Wagner, Ed.D.
Senior Research Fellow at the Learning Policy Institute and bestselling author
Ulrik Juul Christensen, MD
Chief Strategist at the Area9 Group
Fernande Raine, Ph.D.
Historian, Social Entrepreneur, and Founder and Co-Lead of History Co:Lab
ON ZOOM