Eyes Up To Thrive, a coalition of Vermont parents concerned about youth mental health and screen addiction, announces a special guest appearance by former New York Times staff writer Julie Scelfo, the leader of Mothers Against Media Addiction, or M.A.M.A., a new grassroots movement of parents fighting back against excessive tech to protect children and teens from media addiction and empower healthy people and communities.

After opening remarks from local Vermont mom and public health nurse Laura Derrendinger, Scelfo will describe her reporting on the links between social media, smartphones and the national youth mental health crisis, as well as the urgent need for parents to demand basic safeguards to protect kids' safety and well-being. The event will include a presentation and discussion with Derrendinger about new, tripartisan legislation soon to be introduced in the Vermont Senate to keep schools healthy, safe places for kids' to learn and limit screen time. If passed, this legislation will make Vermont a national leader in protecting children's right to an education free from being targeted by hidden algorithms that exploit their emotions for profit and violate privacy.

Scelfo is the Founder and Executive Director of Get Media Savvy, a nonprofit coalition working to establish a healthy media environment for kids and families. She is an award-winning journalist, a former New York Times staff writer, a media ecologist, an author, and parent. Scelfo was moved to start Get Media Savvy after reporting on the youth mental health crisis and discovering that suicidality and other mental health problems have been increasing in ever-younger ages.

With her partners at Get Media Savvy, Scelfo examined how a multitude of factors — including rampant consumerism, addictive product design, outdated or absent regulations, poor media literacy, plus missing consumer product safety alerts — has created an unhealthy, unsafe media environment. Now, her coalition works to create a widespread cultural shift so everyone recognizes the existence of the media environment and its central role in human affairs. M.A.M.A. is Get Media Savvy's first major national initiative and is launching with support from concerned parents across the country. In the future that M.A.M.A. envisions, face-to-face interaction occupies the center of social life and the sacred space of childhood and adolescence is shielded from corporate interests.

The event will take place on Saturday, January 13, 2024, from 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm, at the Manchester Community Library, 138 Cemetery Street, Manchester Center, VT 05255. It's free and open to the public. Free childcare will be available. To RSVP and for additional information, please visit https://linktr.ee/eyesuptothrive and https://getmediasavvy.org.

Event Info

Sep 9, 2024, 5:30 to 6:30 PM

Sep 10, 2024, 6 to 8 PM

Sep 14, 2024, 11 AM to 3 PM