MetroWest Digital Wellness Collaborative
Challenge
In MetroWest Massachusetts and nationwide, families, educators, and policymakers share a growing concern about the negative impacts of digital media use on children and adolescents’ well-being, including their mental health, sleep habits, relationships, and academic outcomes. Parents, educators, and young people all want to learn how to balance the potential benefits of interactive media and cell phones with the harms that can accompany them.
With funding from the MetroWest Health Foundation, EDC has launched and is leading the MetroWest Digital Wellness Collaborative (Collaborative). The Collaborative is engaging groups of youth, parents, staff from schools and location organizations, and community members in examining challenges and opportunities related to young people’s use of digital media.
Key Activities
Our project team is carrying out the following activities:
- Convene Collaborative members
- Establish and convene a Digital Wellness Advisory Council
- Conduct a regional digital wellness assessment
- Hold a MetroWest digital wellness innovation workshop
- Develop, pilot-test, and apply innovative strategies to promote youth’s digital wellness
Impact
The Collaborative aims to:
- Increase digital wellness and reduce harms associated with digital media use among children and young people in MetroWest Massachusetts
- Foster a sustained collaborative effort to promote digital wellness through continued implementation of community-driven digital wellness strategies
