Managing Screen Time and Social Media Use for Children

A conversation with Dr. Jacqueline Sperling, Ph.D.

November 15, 2024 at 12 pm on Zoom

Join us for a conversation with clinical psychologist Dr. Jacqueline Sperling, Ph.D., on the impacts of smart devices and social media on children.

Dr. Sperling's presentation and Q&A session, "Managing Screen Time and Social Media Use for Children", will share observations from her rich clinical experience with children, and offer parents practical tools to navigate the complexities of smart devices and social media exposure for youth. All caregivers welcome!

Register for the event and submit questions in advance here. 

This event is part of a series made possible by the generosity of the Renkes-Hanna family and the Hayes School PTO.

Dr. Jacqueline Sperling, Ph.D. is a clinical psychologist, faculty at Harvard Medical School, and the co-founder and Co-Program Director of the McLean Anxiety Mastery Program at McLean Hospital. She also is the author of the young adult nonfiction book Find Your Fierce: How to Put Social Anxiety in Its Place and a contributor for Harvard Health Publishing. Dr. Sperling specializes in implementing evidence-based treatments, such as cognitive behavioral therapy, and working with youth who present with anxiety disorders and/or obsessive-compulsive disorder. She also focuses on providing parent guidance by using treatments, such as behavioral parent training, to help families address children’s internalizing and externalizing behaviors.

In addition, Dr. Sperling is passionate about disseminating evidence-based information to the community. She has been interviewed by journalists from a variety of media outlets, such as The Wall Street Journal, Reuters, Bloomberg, and the Boston Globe, and frequently speaks about the impacts of different types of social media use on mental health. Relatedly, Dr. Sperling was interviewed by staff members of the Federal Government’s House Committee on Energy & Commerce to inform a mental health hearing.