Screenagers Next Chapter: Addressing Youth Mental Health in the Digital Age
Virtual Film Screening
Presented by the Mahwah Municipal Alliance, Valley Health System, and Mahwah Parent Academy
Watch the trailer and then register!
Millions of young people experience high stress, anxiety, and depression. In Screenagers Next Chapter, we follow physician and filmmaker Delaney Ruston as she discovers solutions for improved adolescent stress, anxiety, and depression in the digital age.
SYNOPSIS OF THE FILM
Filmmaker and physician Delaney Ruston uses a personal lens and professional eye to help us all flip the script on stress, anxiety, and depression.
We follow Delaney as she finds herself at a loss on how to help her own teens as they struggle with their emotional well-being. Ruston sets out to understand these challenges in our current screen-filled society and how we as parents and schools empower teens to overcome mental health challenges and build emotional agility, communication savvy, and stress resilience.
We witness Delaney as she finds her way from ineffective parenting to much-improved strategies. We follow other personal stories of families from an array of backgrounds with a spectrum of emotional challenges.
We also observe approaches in schools that provide strategies relevant beyond the classroom setting. Interwoven into the stories are surprising insights from brain researchers, psychologists, and thought-leaders that reveal evidence-based ways to support mental wellness among our youth.
The impact of social media and screen time in general is incorporated in topics brought to our attention in Screenagers NEXT CHAPTER, how it may be impacting our teen’s mental health, and what we can do to help support youth in the face of struggles.
IMPACT
Screenagers Next Chapter explores how social media, online pressures, and digital stress are affecting teens’ mental health, relationships, and sense of self.
Across school and community screenings, audiences report increased awareness of the emotional challenges teens face online, including anxiety, comparison, and the pressure to curate a digital identity.
By centering teen voices and real-life stories, the film helps students feel seen and understood, while giving parents and educators clearer insight into what young people are navigating every day. It encourages empathy, open communication, and healthier ways of responding to online challenges.
Building on the original Screenagers film, Next Chapter supports school communities in moving beyond screen time limits to focus on mental wellbeing, resilience, and connection in the digital age.