Meet Dr. Michael Rich, MD - the Mediatrician - a Harvard Medical School Associate Professor and pediatrician at Boston Children's Hospital. He founded the Digital Wellness Lab and the Clinic for Interactive Media Disorders and has authored over 50 peer-reviewed papers on children's media use and digital wellness.

Dr. Rich offers essential guidance for parents considering giving their child a smartphone, emphasizing the importance of assessing maturity, responsibility, and the potential impact on their development while setting clear boundaries for healthy usage.

Dr. Michael Rich offers a realistic assessment of our media-saturated world, debunking screen time myths and presenting a balanced approach to integrating media into family life that is both responsive to children's needs and responsible to their developmental limitations.

Dr. Michael Rich compares teaching a teenager to drive with guiding a child to navigate the digital world, emphasizing the need for monitoring, and awareness of risks to help them develop healthy, responsible habits.

Dr. Michael Rich compares teaching a teenager how to drive to the responsibility of helping a child learn to live in the digital world.

Dr. Rich shares a real-life example of a patient seeking privacy while her mother worries about her daughter’s safety.

Dr. Rich explains that standard age-appropriate content can be misleading and suggests that parents focus on finding content that aligns with their child’s current developmental stage, regardless of their age.

Dr. Rich explains how children view gaming as a way to socialize. For many, gaming has become a space to explore social dynamics, make mistakes, and learn from them—much like the role shopping malls once played for past generations.

Dr. Rich highlights the crucial role of boredom in fostering creative thinking, linking it to the discovery of some of the most transformative theories of the modern era.

Dr. Rich emphasizes the significant difference between rules and expectations, advising parents to focus on setting clear expectations, as rules are often seen as "made to be broken."

Dr. Rich explains that full maturity is reached around age 25, and until then, parents should actively support their children's growth, providing guidance and structure to help them develop in the right direction.

Dr. Rich explains that the very trait that once ensured human success in prehistoric times—our natural distractibility—has become a liability in today’s world filled with digital distractions.

Dr. Rich highlights the most common media-related issues he encounters in his clinic, including excessive gaming, social media-driven upward comparison, and information binging.

Dr. Rich explains that social media should go beyond being a platform for self-promotion, encouraging us to showcase our authentic selves, embracing both our strengths and imperfections.

Dr. Rich reveals the variable reward system embedded in every media platform, explaining how it operates and why it’s crucial to recognize its influence on our behavior.

Dr. Rich debunks the myth that media use is a form of addiction and introduces a more accurate framework: Problematic Interactive Media Use Syndrome (PIMU).

Dr. Rich debunks the myth that media use directly causes depression, explaining how Problematic Interactive Media Use (PIMU) is often linked to other conditions, such as ADHD and ASD.

Dr. Rich highlights the contrast between the endless connectivity of today’s digital world and the genuine human connectedness we truly seek.

Dr. Rich leaves us with a message of empowerment, encouragement, and confidence in trusting our own parental instincts.

Dr Rich points the way for those eager to expand their knowledge and gain additional tools to successfully raise their kids in the digital world.