Communication and Media Speaker Series

Since the introduction of smartphones in 2007 and tablets in 2010, the nature of children’s media use has changed dramatically. Given the limitations of parent-report measures for assessing the intermittent, interactive, and immersive modern media experiences, Dr. Radesky’s research has attempted to develop novel methods for assessing media use within the family context. Dr. Radesky will review her initial research examining parent mobile device use in public settings and through videorecorded interactions; discuss development of novel passive sensing methods for assessing the daily patterns of family mobile device use; and present results from content coding and data privacy analysis. Implications for future research and clinical recommendations will be discussed.

Dr. Radesky is an Assistant Professor of Developmental Behavioral Pediatrics at the University of Michigan Medical School. She received her M.D. from Harvard Medical School, trained in Pediatrics at Seattle Children’s Hospital, and completed subspecialty training in Developmental Behavioral Pediatrics at Boston Medical Center. Her NIH-funded research examines parent smartphone use and parent-child interaction, as well as how child self-regulation, mobile device use, and interactive media content interact through the preschool years. She was the lead author of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) guidelines about media use by young children in 2016. Dr. Radesky also sees patients in Developmental Behavioral Pediatric Clinic at the University of Michigan C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital and Ypsilanti Health Center, where her clinical work focuses on autism, traumatic stress, ADHD, and self-regulation.