Staff reports 8:20 a.m.
Monday, October 27, 2025 8:22 am
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ROCHESTER - The Rochester Mental Health Alliance and the Strafford County Public Health Network will present an important and free community screening of "Screenagers: Growing Up in the Digital Age" next month, a documentary that may help parents and young people better understand the dangers the digital age presents, especially to children with developing minds.
The documentary delves into the diverse challenges families face in this new age of being entertained by constant scrolling on various website and social media pages for sometimes hours and hours every day.
Parents often find their children immersed in their screens -- scrolling through social media, playing video games, which often leads to them losing focus with ever-decreasing attention spans.
Physician and filmmaker Delaney Ruston faced these challenges with her own kids and screens. She questioned how this was affecting family dynamics, education, and the mental well-being of young people.
"Screenagers: Growing Up in the Digital Age" takes a deeply personal and relatable approach as Delaney opens the doors to her own family life and meets with others to explore the messy struggles over social media, video games, academics, and internet addiction.
Through poignant and unexpectedly humorous stories, paired with surprising insights from leading experts, "Screenagers: Growing Up in the Digital Age" reveals how screens are shaping our children's development. Most importantly, it offers actionable solutions to help adults empower kids to navigate the digital age and find balance.
This important film will be shown on Nov. 19 at the Rochester Opera House inside City Hall, which is located at 31 Wakefield St. in Rochester. The two-hour film begins at 6 p.m.
For additional details, contact kmichaud@cornerstonevna.org.