Since 2008, there has been a skyrocketing number of teenagers who are experiencing anxiety, depression and suicide attempts. The number of young persons effected by sexting, cyberbullying, sex trafficking, online gaming addiction and Internet pornography addiction is escalating. No single factor defines a culture, but the increased accessibility of cell phones has contributed to accumulating mental health concerns of a magnitude not seen before. The excessive use of the Internet and social media is altering the process of self-regulation, similar to what is seen in substance abuse disorders.
Social media is designed to highjack the brain, especially the developing brain. It places the vulnerable, especially the developing child who is maneuvering through the normal process of human development and maturation, into a maze of alternatives. These alternatives are not necessarily healthy nor holy, and at times, counter the dignity of the human person.
During this webinar, Dr. Marysia Weber shared the statistics and psychosocial effects related to the use of digital devices in America. To address the detrimental effects of too much screen time, she has provided recommendations to purify our memory and imagination to live a healthier and holier life.
Get to know our host:
Sister Marysia Weber is a Religious Sister of Mercy of Alma, MI. She is a physician, certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology and also completed a fellowship in consultation-liaison psychiatry. Dr. Weber offers workshops on a variety of topics including human attachment, boundaries and character development, depression and anxiety, dialogue and conflict resolution, as well as on social media and its effects on the brain for clergy, seminarians, women’s and men’s religious communities, parents, teachers and students.
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