In The News
Learning at Home While Under-Connected: Lower-Income Families During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Release event: FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel keynotes the New America event releasing this research. Learn More >
“As schools reopen, we need to hope for the best but prepare for remote learning,” op-ed article by Vikki Katz and Victoria Rideout, San Francisco Chronicle. Read Article >
Closing the homework gap so ‘no child is left offline’ Read Article >
Connected Nation podcast: Listen to Podcast >
A Digital Divide Haunts Schools Adapting to Virus Hurdles, US News & World Report. Read Article >
The Common Sense Census: Media Use by Tweens and Teens, 2021
Study Finds Social Media, Screen Time by Teens and Tweens Increased in Pandemic. Listen to Vicky Rideout on public radio’s Forum talk show, about how young people’s use of screen media has evolved during COVID.
Appearances:
Watch the panel discussion Vicky moderated titled Advertising and Kids: Let’s Take a (Commercial) Break. The panel was part of Children & Screens’ “Ask the Experts” series.
In fall 2019, Vicky was a panelist at a Congressional briefing sponsored by then-Senator Kamala Harris, to discuss the recent National Academies of Sciences report The Promise of Adolescence: Realizing Opportunity for All Youth.
We participated in a forum hosted by the Technology and Adolescent Mental Wellness Program (TAM); this video from the event includes some highlights from Vicky’s presentation.
Survey: More Young People Are Depressed During the Pandemic. But They May Be Using Social Media to Cope
www.the74million.org | March 17, 2021
Adolescents have experienced a pronounced increase in symptoms of depression during a year of isolation and school closures, according to survey evidence released today. The research indicates that many have turned to digital health resources, as well as social media, to cope with the negative emotions stoked by COVID.
The survey — administered between last September and November through a partnership between nonprofit organizations Common Sense Media, Hopelab, and the California Health Care Foundation — contacted a representative sample of roughly 1,500 Americans between the ages of 14 and 22 both online and over the phone.
New study looks at how young people are using social media to cope during pandemic
ABC10 News San Diego | March 17, 2021
SAN DIEGO, Calif. — After a year of missed milestones, isolation, and uncertainty, we’re getting a better sense of the pandemic’s mental health toll on young people.
“During the pandemic, they've oftentimes turned to social media as a positive outlet to relieve anxiety. Yet, at the same time, there's no question; the data is clear that young people who spend a lot of time on social media are more likely to suffer from depression and anxiety and other mental health disorders," said James P. Steyer, founder, and CEO of Common Sense Media.
Kids, Coping & Coronavirus
The Today Show | March 17, 2021
Watch The Today Show's fantastic interviews with young people on the findings of our latest survey about how teens and young adults are using social media and other digital health tools to promote their own mental well-being
Watch Vicky's interview with ConnectSafely's Larry Magid, about her latest survey on social media and depression.
'A double-edged sword': Survey says young Americans are using social media to address mental health issues ... caused by social media
USA TODAY | March 17, 2021
As social media contributes to depression among some U.S. teens and young adults amid the COVID-19 pandemic, they are ironically using that technology to tackle their mental health struggles, a new study shows.
That complex finding is among the results from more than 1,500 14- to 22-year-olds surveyed by Common Sense Media in a study released Wednesday titled "Coping with COVID-19: How Young People Use Digital Media to Manage Their Mental Health."
The Underlying Messages That Screen-Time Recommendations Send Parents
The Atlantic | April 29, 2019
Providing the sort of straightforward guidance parents desire is hard for anyone, even experts.
Read The Atlantic's article about the World Health Organization's recommendations for children's media consumption, including Vicky Rideout's comments. “The gist of the WHO recommendations is that small children should be spending more time in active play and less time being sedentary—and that the sedentary time should be more focused on activities that boost cognitive development, like blocks and puzzles, and less focused on videos and electronic games,” says Vicky Rideout, an independent consultant who researches kids’ technology use and who worked on the Common Sense Media survey. “And by and large, I think those are sound recommendations.”
The Digital Gap Between Rich and Poor Kids Is Not What We Expected
New York Times | October 26, 2018
“America’s public schools are still promoting devices with screens — even offering digital-only preschools. The rich are banning screens from class altogether.” This article by Nellie Bowles cites research VJR Consulting conducted for Common Sense Media. “Lower-income teenagers spend an average of eight hours and seven minutes a day using screens for entertainment, while higher income peers spend five hours and 42 minutes, according to research by Common Sense Media, a nonprofit media watchdog.”
For better or worse: how does social media affect young adults’ well-being?
October 31, 2018
Vicky Rideout’s latest blog post on the London School of Economics’ site Parenting for a Digital Future discusses the implications of findings from a recent survey we conducted about social media and mental health. The survey was sponsored by two organisations working to promote adolescent mental health, Hopelab and Well Being Trust.
Teens and Smart Phones
August 22, 2018
“Phones have saturated teenage life: Ninety-five percent of Americans ages 13 to 17 have a smartphone or access to one, and nearly half report using the internet “almost constantly.” But as recent survey data and interviews have suggested, many teens find much of that time to be unsatisfyingly spent. Constant usage shouldn’t be mistaken for constant enjoyment, as any citizen of the internet can attest.” Read Vicky Rideout’s comments about teens and phones in this Atlantic article about the latest Pew Research Center survey.
Parenting for a Digital Future
August 11, 2017
"The distinction between correlation and causation is not a mere technicality to acknowledge before moving on to a pre-ordained conclusion; it is fundamental to a correct interpretation of the work." Read Vicky Rideout's response to Jean Twenge's provocative Atlantic article on the London School of Economics' Parenting for a Digital Future blog.
Journal of Children and Media
January 18, 2016
Given the variety of activities children can undertake on their phones and tablets, does it make sense to talk about "screen time" any more? And in this transmedia world, how can we effectively measure children's media usage - or should we even bother to try?
Read Vicky Rideout's commentary in the Journal of Children and Media on why it does make sense to continue doing our best to measure the time children and teens spend with various types of media, using quantitative, nationally representative, probabilistic samples - despite the many challenges of doing so. The article includes lots of key data from the recent Common Sense Census: Media Use By Tweens and Teens, now available in an academic journal.
Barack Obama's 2004 Democratic Convention Speech
Watch Politico's behind-the-scenes video about Barack Obama's 2004 Democratic Convention speech, including an interview with Vicky Rideout, director of speech writing for the Convention.