By Lori Borgman From Tribune News Service Every day my inbox fills with emails from public relations firms, angling for a plug for an author’s book or a new study on children. I delete most of them as quickly as they appear, but I nearly always read the ones on youth and mental health. Suffice…

  “I don’t know how to explain it, but something is wrong with my son,” one mother told me, fighting back her tears. “He’s a good student, he does his chores, he used to be so sensitive and caring. But I feel like I’m losing him. His video games are the center of his universe…

Whether you’re a homebody who seeks comfort or a thrill-seeker who thrives on new opportunities, most of us find the idea of novelty beneficial in some way. Our brains are attracted to pretty things, new possibilities, exciting adventures, or even something as simple as a new smell or sound. It’s a break from the ordinary,…

I remember when our first computer made its grand entrance into my life. It was 1997. I was 8 years old and was thrilled to have this (very large) piece of technology at my fingertips–eager to play games, explore the internet, and print out random clipart to hang around my bedroom. My sister and I…