Webinar | Growing Up Lonely? Child Connection and Isolation in the Digital Age

Facilitators

1. Julianne Holt-Lunstad, PhD
Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience, Director of the Social Connections Lab, Brigham Young University
Moderator

2. Jeffrey Hall, PhD
Professor of Communication Studies, University of Kansas

3. Khadijah B. Watkins, MD, MPH, DFAACAP
Director, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Residency Training, Associate Director, The Clay Center for Young Healthy Minds, Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School

4. Milena Batanova, MA, PhD
Director of Research and Evaluation at Making Caring Common, a project of the Harvard Graduate School of Education

Description

Are today’s children more lonely than previous generations and, if so, what does that mean for their long-term emotional and social well-being? Is the constant “connection” provided by digital devices meaningful or simply an illusion? How is social media use affecting youth experiences of isolation and connection? At this webinar, attendees gained valuable insights into how to recognize signs of loneliness in children and strategies to foster genuine social connections.

Children and Screens held the #AskTheExperts webinar “Growing Up Lonely? Child Connection and Isolation in the Digital Age” on Wednesday, February 26, 2025. An expert panel of child psychologists and researchers examined the intersection of youth media use, social behaviors, and the psychological state of loneliness in children today.