Documentary examines growing up in the digital age

“Screenagers” showing Thursday at 7 p.m. in the auditorium

Panav Ladha

Panav Ladha, WTV Staff Reporter

From laptops, to phones and Twitter to Snapchat, teenagers and digital screens go hand in hand.But what is the impact of all this screen time?

That’s the focus of a documentary showing tonight at 7 p.m. in the auditorium.

Screenagers is an award-winning documentary on managing teenagers screen time and the effect screen time has on a teen’s development.

According to CNN: “The average teenager spends more than six hours a day on screens.”

For the school’s digital learning coach, Trista Hennebry, the question of too much screen time depends on the student.

“It has disadvantages and advantages and you guys have a lot more access to content which we didn’t have when we were kids,” Hennebry said. “I will say that what I observe is that maybe some kids might focus too much on what’s happening on their phones or you know on the internet instead of going maybe out into the real world but that’s kind of a stereotype so I think it depends on the kid. ”

Understanding that digital devices can be an important and necessary part of today’s world, it’s all about finding a balance.

“I think that it also depends on the type of teen it is, screen usage is absolutely appropriate and there’s some that probably use it more than they should and some that use it just as much as they should,” Hennebry said. “As teens you have to learn how to manage that time because you see adults who are just as bad as teenagers that are on their telephones all the time and will not get their noses out of the screens. So it’s a matter of just knowing how to balance your life with your screen vs the real world.”