OUR VISION AND HISTORY
The Institute of Digital Media and Child Development feels that collaboration between clinicians, educators, policy makers and technologists is required to address the complex issues new technologies are triggering in how we interact.
In this ever-changing media landscape, it is clear that timely, objective, evidence-based research needs to be conducted to ensure that all children learn and grow into healthy, happy citizens of the future.
Our Vision is to catalyze funding for reliable research and advice and to be an organization of researchers, clinicians, experts and not-for-profits, that can be counted upon by policy makers, the media and other scientists, parents and the public as a reliable source for scientific research and advice and to develop avenues for the development and advocacy of social policies that protect children.
History
The Institute of Digital Media and Child Development is a 501C(3) organization (pending) founded in 2012 and is based in Stony Brook, Long Island under the direction of its founder and president, Dr. Pamela Hurst-Della Pietra and a growing staff of four.
The idea behind IDMCD began many years ago when Founder Pam Hurst-Della Pietra, an early adapter and frequent media user, wanted to understand the cognitive and long-term impacts of technology on herself and her young children. When she began looking for unbiased research, she discovered that the issue was highly politicized and most of the information she could find was ideological in nature. With a background in pediatrics and training as a scientist, she launched into a multi-year mission for clear, objective answers. She saw a need to prioritize the top research topics, but also recognized that the voices driving the priorities needs to be research scientists and the research needs to be impartial. She began to recognize the size of the problem and the need for a tremendous amount of awareness and financial support to investigate all the possible issues and to present answers. Using her background in program development together with her strong interst in medicine and pediatrics, Pam felt she could help contribute to this complicated and important challenge facing our society.
Dr. Hurst DellaPietra began identifying stakeholders, including institutions, organizations and professionals such as pediatricians, psychologists, psychiatrists, and communications professionals. Her goal was to bring them together to form the interdiscipline of children and media and to stimulate an impartial, bidirectional dialogue.
Presently over 160 leading researchers, non-profits, experts, clinicians and writers from neuroscience, cognitive and social psychology, child psychiatry, pediatrics, and public health are participating in the Institute.
Our overall work is to:
• Provide grant funding for research by the top scientists in the field
• Serve as a national clearinghouse for research and information accessible by
scientists, parents, media and policy makers;
• Collaborate with industry to develop socially responsible media;
• Develop advice for parents regarding a healthy media diet;
• Advocate for social policies that protect children.