Brookwood is pleased to announce the second speaker of this year’s 4 to 14 Speaker Series is Dr. Catherine Steiner-Adair, a psychologist and clinical instructor in the Department of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, who will discuss her latest book, . Steiner- Adair has appeared on The Today Show, Good Morning America, The Discovery Channel, CNN, and PBS stations nationwide.
In The Big Disconnect Steiner-Adair’s discusses her research that has uncovered the alarming extent to which modern family life is being transformed, depleted, and fragmented by the relentless pull of easily accessible technology. Steiner-Adair says families are in crisis around this issue, and even more so than they realize. She says the “digitalized life” is taking its toll — altering the way children think and relate and pulling families apart. Not only do chronic tech distractions have deep and lasting effects, but children desperately need parents to provide what technology cannot: close, significant interactions with the adults in their lives.
“While parents and children are enjoying swift and constant access to everything and everyone on the Internet, they are simultaneously struggling to maintain a meaningful personal connection with each other in their own homes,’’ Steiner-Adair writes. “It is the parental paradox of our time: never has there been so much opportunity for families to plug in and at the same time disconnect.
And although she readily points to technology’s value and positive possibilities, she believes it’s time “to look with fresh eyes and an open mind at the disconnection we are experiencing from our extreme device dependence.
At Brookwood, Steiner-Adair will discuss topics addressed in her work such as “How the Tech Effect puts children’s development at risk,” “Pushing pause on the Tech Takeover,” and “Turning Tech into an ally for closeness, creativity and community.
She’ll also share real-life stories from her clinical work as well as insights and advice that can help parents achieve greater understanding, authority, and confidence as they come up against the tech revolution unfolding in their living rooms.
Steiner-Adair, EdD, is a clinical psychologist, school consultant, and author, and maintains a private practice in Massachusetts. In addition to her work as an instructor at Harvard Medical School she is also an associate psychologist at McLean Hospital. A highly sought after speaker, Dr. Steiner-Adair has spoken to a variety of audiences threw the years including educators, health professionals, PTAs, religious groups, and numerous national media outlets.
When:
January 30, 2014, at 7 p.m.
Location:
Prices:
$10
Phone:
(978) 526-4500
Link(s):
