Intro from Jon Haidt:

Melanie’s personal experience with teen screen addiction, combined with her extensive background in public education on this issue, provides her with a unique perspective and a strong commitment to helping others. With a nursing degree from Emory University, she uses her medical background to develop educational materials for parents and children, helping families prevent and reverse screen dependencies.

Melanie reached out to me while I was writing The Anxious Generation, and she was so knowledgeable—not just about the neurobiology, but about the family dynamics playing out all across America—that I sent her the manuscript and asked for her comments. She offered me excellent feedback, which I incorporated. She also sent me the book that she was writing—Kids’ Brains and Screens—a comprehensive student curriculum that does something extraordinary: it explains the relevant biology and psychology in ways that tweens and teens can understand. Melanie’s firsthand experience with the negative impacts of phone-based adolescence drives her advocacy; she sets a high standard and urges parents to delay giving a smartphone until after high school.