healthy balance. Some solutions they mentioned include parents as role models, limit setting and short, regular conversations about screens. To support this last suggestion they propose Tech Talk Tuesday’s and post ideas for discussion on their web page every week. One of the main goals of SCREENAGERS is to start conversationsaboutfosteringahealthyrelationship with screens. Following the SCREENAGERS showing at Wellington Secondary School was a discussion panel facilitated by the Central Island Healthy Lifestyles program. Members of the panel included two teenagers, a parent, a gambling awareness service provider, a pediatrician and an educator. A great discussion followed as members of the audience shared concerns and stories. One parent talked about how frustrated she was when encouraged to allow her child to have more screen time, so he wouldn’t ‘fall’ behind, resulted in her child becoming addicted. A bright teenager from the audience was frustrated that so much school work is now done on screens that she isn’t learning how to write by hand. There was also a discussion on how Steve Jobs, Former CEO of Apple, knew how addictive screen time is and strictly limited his own children’s exposure. Scott Christianson, vice-principal from Wellington, answered questions about the announcement from Central Middle School in Victoria: on September, Central implemented a no cell phone policy at the school. The two teenagers on the panel each gave their perspective of how they balance school, homework, friends and screens. Karen Hlady from the Gambling Awareness Program, highlighted how social media and video gaming share similarities to the gambling industry; so when children and youth take part in these activities without limits on their time, they elevate their risk of developing addictive behaviours to such technologies. Dr. Arruda brought us all back to including our smart, young youth into the discussions about screen time use. Children and teenagers want to be involved in these discussions, but it is going to take more than just families to have these discussions to see some changes. Not just the schools either. It is going to take whole communities. This screening was made possible by a partnership between the Wellington Parent Advisory Committee and the Central Island Healthy Lifestyle program (CIHL). This Island Health program supports families to lead healthier lifestyles and covers many areas of family life, including activity, eating habits, mental health, sleeping habits and also screen usage. For more information on the CIHL program or this screening go to: www.viha.ca For more information on SCREENAGERS go to www.screenagersmovie.com ……