Thriving in The Digital World: The Role of Social Emotional Learning

In today's digital age, children and youth are navigating a complex world of social media, online interactions, and digital communication. During this presentation, we will explore the reliance of SEL in the digital world, explore the ethical responsibility of SEL providers to tackle this topic, and learn about opportunities to better support educators in their role. The Digital Wellness Lab will share research insights on how online communication can help shape children’s communication and interpersonal relationship skills, both off and online – for younger children, their experiences with video gaming are very important for developing these skills, while teens may migrate to social media.

Speakers:

Kaitlin Tiches is the Medical Librarian and Knowledge Manager for the Digital Wellness Lab at Boston Children’s Hospital. In her role, she supports the research team in collecting and analyzing new publications in the field of children and adolescent digital wellness. In addition, she authors materials published on the DWL website, including research briefs on “Sharenting” and children’s views on video gaming. Before joining the Digital Wellness Lab, Kaitlin was a high school librarian and elementary and middle school special education teacher in Massachusetts.

Nicole Powell is a Clinical Research Specialist at the Digital Wellness Lab and a dual master’s degree candidate in Social Work and Public Health at Boston University. Drawing from her interdisciplinary experience as a Research Fellow at the Yale Child Study Center, she takes a holistic, social justice-oriented approach to technology’s impact on health and well-being. Her work involves developing user-centered design strategies, promoting youth-led research, and contributing to the creation of screening tools and interventions for problematic interactive media use in adolescents.