Gen Z now reports higher rates of loneliness than any other generation, and parents are more worried than ever about social media. So what actually protects young people: screen time limits, phone-free schools, or something else?

In this episode, child and adolescent psychiatrists Gene Beresin, MD, MA, and Khadijah Booth Watkins, MD, MPH, make the case for an answer we’ve known about for decades: a secure, trusting bond between a child and the adults who raise them.

Gene and Khadijah explain what secure attachment is, how it develops, and why it’s never too late to build. They walk through the U.S. Surgeon General’s advisory on loneliness and describe how loneliness shows up differently in young children and teens, from clinginess and stomachaches to withdrawal and “nobody likes me.” They explore how secure attachment helps protect kids against both loneliness and social media misuse, and why social media isn’t all bad. They also name the online stressors parents should know about, including FOMO, ghosting, catfishing, and constant comparison.

The episode closes with everyday ways to strengthen connection at home: slowing down, naming feelings, repairing after mistakes, and asking kids to “walk me through your day.” Gene and Khadijah also share where they land on screen time limits and phones in schools, and they talk about the people who were secure bases for them growing up.

Media list

• Secure Attachment: Its Role in Preventing Loneliness and Misuse of Social Media, by Gene Beresin and Masha Mesyef (Clay Center blog)
• U.S. Surgeon General’s advisory on the epidemic of loneliness and isolation (May 2023)
• Research on what secure attachment supports, from cognition to resilience
• Study on teens’ need for bonding, trust, and attachment
• Study linking insecure attachment to social media addiction
• Study on secure attachment, addiction, and mental health
• Teen Romance and Breakups in the Digital Age: Navigating the World of Ghosting, Blocking and Harassment(Clay Center blog)
• Teen Romance in the Digital Era. (Shrinking It Down podcast episode)

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Why does back to school feel so different this year?

In this episode of Shrinking it Down: Mental Health Made Simple, Gene and Khadijah take on five worries shaping the 2026 school year: classmates missing amid immigration enforcement, the Meta–Instagram settlement and proposed limits on kids' social media use, economic stress and uncertainty about life after high school, measles outbreaks and vaccine misinformation, and climate anxiety. They share how parents can start honest, age-appropriate conversations — asking what kids are noticing, listening without judgment, and being genuine about what they can and can't promise — and why family stories can help build resilience.

Practical guidance for any parent, caregiver, or educator helping kids carry worries they can't always put into words.

Tune in now!

Media List

• How to Help Kids Cope With Situational Anxiety (MGH Clay Center)
• Common Sense Media
• Measles: Choosing Not to Vaccinate (MGH Clay Center)
• Measles Vaccination (CDC)
• Anxiety to Agency: Empowering Kids to Address Climate Change (MGH Clay Center)
• Storm Anxiety: 11 Tips to Help Your Child Cope (MGH Clay Center)
• Climate Anxiety and Kids, featuring Elizabeth Pinsky, MD (Shrinking It Down)
• What to Look for, When to Worry, What to Do (MGH Clay Center)

Episode music by Gene Beresin

Episode produced by Masha Mesyef

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Shrinking it Down: Mental Health Made Simple, Gene and Khadijah take a hard look at cyberbullying — how it differs from the schoolyard bullying of decades past, why it's harder to escape, and which kids face the highest risk. They walk through the Clay Center's three W's: what to look for, when to worry, and what to do, covering everything from documenting evidence the right way to rallying "upstanders" instead of bystanders. Practical, direct guidance for any parent, caregiver, or educator raising a kid in today's always-on digital world. Tune in now!

Media List

• Cyberbullying: A Serious, Often Dangerous Form of Harm and Ways to Support Your Teen (MGH Clay Center)
• Teens and Cyberbullying 2022 (Pew Research Center)
• StopBullying.gov
• Common Sense Media
• The Cyberbullying Research Center
• The Bullying Prevention Program (Mass.gov)
• Who Is at Risk for Bullying (StopBullying.gov)
• Cyberbullying: What to Know (MGH Clay Center PDF)
• Cyberbullying: What to Do (MGH Clay Center PDF)
• What to Look for, When to Worry, What to Do (MGH Clay Center)

Episode music by Gene Beresin

Episode produced by Masha Mesyef

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.