Events

In today’s world of high expectations, many individuals – regardless of age – feel an underlying or overarching anxiety of never feeling good enough, and believing that something is “missing” in their pursuit of achievement, success, and happiness. It doesn’t have to be this way! Ana Homayoun discusses the importance of recognizing that we each have our own internal definition of perfection, which is often the first step in redefining and honing values, developing healthy habits, and pursuing a purpose-filled life.

In our always-on digital world, it can be hard for tweens and teens – and adults! – to successfully navigate online and IRL worlds. With empathy, compassion, and humor, noted Silicon Valley author Ana Homayoun discusses some of the modern parenting dilemmas in the age of the smartphone and speaks about her latest book, “Social Media Wellness: Helping Teens and Tweens Thrive in an Unbalanced Digital World.” The book explores how the digital balancing act affects all aspects of our lives and personal wellness, and for students impacts academic abilities and social well-being as well as emotional and physical health. Ana’s work, which is grounded in research and based on over fifteen years of working with students of all ages, offers practical solutions for students, parents, and educators as they navigate the ever-changing issues involving social networking and healthy teen development. 

To get a sense of Social Media Wellness, please watch this video of students speaking about ways to promote social media wellness, or read some of the features below:

• NYTimes, The Secret Social Media Lives of Teenagers
• Washington Post, 5 ways parents can help their kids manage social media

In our always-on digital world, it can be hard for tweens and teens – and adults! – to successfully navigate online and IRL worlds. With empathy, compassion, and humor, noted Silicon Valley author Ana Homayoun discusses some of the modern parenting dilemmas in the age of the smartphone and speaks about her latest book, “Social Media Wellness: Helping Teens and Tweens Thrive in an Unbalanced Digital World.” The book explores how the digital balancing act affects all aspects of our lives and personal wellness, and for students impacts academic abilities and social well-being as well as emotional and physical health. Ana’s work, which is grounded in research and based on over fifteen years of working with students of all ages, offers practical solutions for students, parents, and educators as they navigate the ever-changing issues involving social networking and healthy teen development. 

To get a sense of Social Media Wellness, please watch this video of students speaking about ways to promote social media wellness, or read some of the features below:

• NYTimes, The Secret Social Media Lives of Teenagers
• Washington Post, 5 ways parents can help their kids manage social media

In today’s world of high expectations, many individuals – regardless of age – feel an underlying or overarching anxiety of never feeling good enough, and believing that something is “missing” in their pursuit of achievement, success, and happiness. It doesn’t have to be this way! Ana Homayoun discusses the importance of recognizing that we each have our own internal definition of perfection, which is often the first step in redefining and honing values, developing healthy habits, and pursuing a purpose-filled life.

As more elementary and middle schools use technology in the classroom, including programs in which each child has their own device, students face a challenging paradox: the very tools they use to get their work done — tablets and computers — often provide the biggest distraction from completing their work and retaining information. In this digital transition, we’ve failed to help students develop habits to manage their digital workflow and get their work done more effectively. We want to set our students up for success, but what organizational and time-management practices can we put in place? There are effective strategies that make a difference. In this presentation, bestselling author Ana Homayoun (That Crumpled Paper Was Due Last Week, The Myth of the Perfect Girl, Social Media Wellness) provides practical, implementable tips on how to encourage students’ development of executive functioning skills, and addresses some of the real life dilemmas in the new paradox of educational technology and social media distractions.