🚨 Transformational Cohort Program launching soon — Join the interest list →
FAMILY NURSE PRACTITIONER · PEDIATRIC DIGITAL HEALTH & WELLNESS
Helping parents raise healthy, resilient kids
in a digital world.
Helping parents protect their child's developing brain, emotional health, and future through evidence-based medical guidance for today's digital world.
70%
of kids see pornography before age 18 — shaping developing brains before parents realize it's happening
Children's Commissioner for England, 2025
1 in 4
children are exposed before age 11 — during the critical window for brain and emotional development
Children's Commissioner for England, 2025
192%
rise in sextortion in one year — 518,720 cases, primarily targeting children on mainstream platforms
NCMEC CyberTipline Data, 2024–2025
2–3×
higher risk of problematic internet use in children with ADHD — a clinical connection most providers miss
APA & WHO Behavioral Addiction Reviews, 2023–2024
ONLINE EDUCATION & RESOURCES
TELEHEALTH · INCLUDING NH & MA
EVIDENCE-BASED MEDICAL PRACTICE
FAITH-FRIENDLY OPTIONS AVAILABLE
JOEL FURNANZ, FNP-C
WHO WE HELP
Parents of school-age children who don't want their kids left out or isolated — without sacrificing their childhood, mental health, or future relationships.
THE CLINICAL PICTURE
Today's digital environment doesn't simply entertain children — it shapes developing brains.
During the years when sleep, attention, emotional regulation, relationships, learning, and identity are still being formed, the digital environment has become one of the most powerful influences on child health and development — affecting sleep, mood, emotional regulation, relationships, physical activity, and even sexual development.
For many children, what looks like anxiety, poor sleep, attention problems, behavioral changes, or declining mental health has a contributing cause that often goes unnamed: what's happening on their screen.
At Seek Health New England, we look at children's digital lives through the lens of whole-child health. We ask how those habits are affecting their sleep, attention, emotional health, relationships, physical well-being, and development — the same way we would evaluate nutrition, sleep, or exercise.
THE HEALTH PROBLEM
For many children, anxiety, poor sleep, attention difficulties, and emotional dysregulation have a contributing cause that's being overlooked in clinical settings: the digital environment. A medical framework can help connect those issues to sleep, attention, brain development, relationships, and emotional health.
THE PARENT REALITY
Overwhelmed and unsure where to start. The problem feels enormous — apps change constantly, the research is hard to find, and the conversations feel impossible. Many parents sense something is wrong but don't have a clinical framework to understand what they're seeing.
WHAT'S AT STAKE
Overwhelmed and unsure where to start. The problem feels enormous — apps change constantly, the research is hard to find, and the conversations feel impossible. Many parents sense something is wrong but don't have a clinical framework to understand what they're seeing.
OUR APPROACH
We believe digital wellness belongs alongside nutrition, sleep, exercise, and mental health as a foundational part of preventive pediatric care.
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Evidence-Based Medicine
Our recommendations are built on the same framework used in good clinical practice — evidence-based medicine, developmental neuroscience, and pediatric and adolescent health research translated into practical action.
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Developmental Neuroscience
We evaluate how digital habits affect the body's interconnected systems — from sleep and circadian rhythms to attention, stress physiology, emotional regulation, relationships, physical activity, sexual development, and healthy brain maturation.
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Practical Family Strategies
Practical strategies families can realistically sustain — not overwhelming checklists. Through evidence-based medicine, developmental neuroscience, and real family experience, we help parents understand one of the newest determinants of child health: the digital environment.
"What role is the digital environment playing in your child's physical, emotional, cognitive, and social health?" That's the question a clinician asks — and the one this practice is built around. We're glad to stand alongside the many parents, clinicians, and organizations already doing important work in this space. Our goal is simply to bring a medical, whole-child lens to a conversation families are already having.
YOUR GUIDE
Joel Furnanz, FNP-C
A family nurse practitioner
bringing a clinical lens to this conversation.
"There may be many contributing factors behind what a child is experiencing — the anxiety, the trouble sleeping, the mood changes that don't have an obvious cause. More and more, we're finding that a piece of that puzzle is often what's happening on their screen."
OUR MISSION
🛡️
Protecting Childhood
Our goal is to help children develop healthy brains, healthy relationships, and lifelong resilience in a world where technology is unavoidable.
👨👩👧
Equipping Families
We help parents understand how the digital world affects the whole child — so they can make confident decisions that protect health, strengthen relationships, and prepare their children to thrive.
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Training Clinicians
Healthcare providers are positioned to address this — but most haven't been given the clinical tools. We're building the resources to change that.
Evidence-Based
Faith-Friendly Options
Multi-Specialty Background
Anti-Exploitation Focus
Full practice information at seekhealthnewengland.com →
MEET YOUR GUIDE
A two-minute introduction from Joel.
Video coming soon
THE OUTCOME
Where families start. Where they end up.
Parents often notice improvements in sleep quality, emotional regulation, attention, family connection, and overall well-being as healthier digital habits become part of everyday life. That's what this looks like in practice.
WHERE YOU MIGHT BE RIGHT NOW
Worried. Overwhelmed. Not sure where to start.
"I'm scared about what my child might be seeing online."
"I don't know what to do — or even where to begin."
"My child already has a phone. I feel like I'm already behind."
"Every time I try to set limits, it turns into a fight."
"I don't know how to talk to my child about this."
WHERE YOU'RE GOING
Calm, informed, and proactive.
Parents become calm, informed, and proactive about child health
Children spend more time engaged with people than screens
Healthier attention, stronger relationships, better sleep, greater resilience
Families use technology intentionally instead of being controlled by it
A home where technology supports your child's growth instead of competing with it
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Wherever your child is right now, there is a path forward. Whether you're getting ahead of it or responding to something that's already happened, having clear information and the right support can change what happens next.
THE PLAN
Three steps toward a healthier digital home.
You don't need to do everything at once. Start where you are. These three steps give any family a clear, medically grounded path from overwhelmed to equipped.
01
Understand What's Happening
The medical foundation
Learn how today's digital environment influences your child's developing brain, sleep architecture, stress response, attention, emotional regulation, learning, and long-term health.
Learn how digital habits affect the body's interconnected systems
Understand the clinical research behind screen overuse and addiction
Recognize the health symptoms most often connected to digital habits
Know what's normal developmental curiosity vs. signs of a real problem
Build the medical literacy to ask the right questions
02
Protect Your Home
Practical setup — this weekend
Implement practical strategies for devices, conversations, screen habits, parental controls, and family expectations that actually fit real life.
Set up parental controls and content filtering on every device
Establish screen-free zones — bedrooms, mealtimes, mornings
Have the age-appropriate conversations before something happens
Configure your home router with content filtering to protect kids
Create a family tech agreement everyone understands
03
Lead with Confidence
Ongoing habits and readiness
Know what warning signs to watch for, how to respond when problems arise, and how to build a home where technology supports your child's growth instead of competing with it.
Know the clinical warning signs of overuse, addiction, and exploitation
Have a clear response plan if something has already happened
Stay current as the platforms and risks your child faces change
Keep the conversation going — as connection, not surveillance
Know when and how to seek additional medical support
CLINICAL OUTCOMES
What changes when digital habits are addressed — and what happens when they aren't.
✗ WITHOUT A PLAN — HEALTH RISKS
Patterns develop before anyone notices.
✗ Chronic sleep disruption and the cascade of health effects that follow
✗ Attention difficulties that are often mistaken for — or worsen — ADHD
✗ Anxiety, mood changes, and emotional dysregulation without an obvious cause
✗ Anxiety, mood changes, and emotional dysregulation without an obvious cause
✗ Social isolation and delayed emotional development
✗ Compulsive behaviors and early addiction patterns
✗ A teenager whose understanding of relationships has been shaped by content no parent would have chosen
✗ Parents who don't recognize the impact until they're trying to undo years of unhealthy patterns
✓ WITH A PLAN — HEALTH OUTCOMES
Children thrive. Families connect.
✓ Improved sleep quality, duration, and morning energy
✓ Stronger attention, focus, and academic performance
✓ Healthier emotional regulation and mood stability
✓ Stronger real-world relationships and social skills
✓ Greater resilience and a healthier understanding of themselves and others
✓ Parents who are calm, informed, and proactive — not constantly anxious
✓ Families that use technology intentionally instead of being controlled by it
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This is preventive medicine. Like many health risks, unhealthy digital habits often develop gradually before becoming obvious. Early intervention changes outcomes. The families who act now — before problems become entrenched — have a significant advantage.
FREE DOWNLOAD · START HERE
"Five Simple Steps to Make Your Home Safer This Weekend"
One page. Practical. Five steps any family can take in the next 48 hours — whether your child has a device yet or not. A simple, doable place to start.
FREE ONE-PAGE GUIDE
Five Simple Steps to Make Your Home Safer This Weekend
Enter your email and we'll send it right away.
THE RESEARCH
What the data says — and what it means for your child's health.
These statistics exist not to alarm you, but to give you an accurate clinical picture — because parents who understand the research are far better equipped to protect their children. Knowledge is the first step toward action.
1 in 17
Adolescents who report being targeted by AI-generated deepfake sexual imagery — a fast-emerging risk most parents haven't even heard of yet.
Thorn, 2025
5
Roblox, Discord, Snapchat, TikTok, and Fortnite are among the platforms most often named in exploitation cases — and also some of the most popular apps among kids today. Mainstream apps, which means every family is potentially affected.
Thorn, Youth Perspectives on Online Safety, 2024; NCMEC CyberTipline Data
13–17yo
Sextortion is now one of the fastest-growing contributors to suicidal crises in boys this age. Early education and open communication are the primary protective factors.
NCMEC Law Enforcement Brief & ICAC, 2023–2024
72%
Teens who have used an AI companion app at least once, with 52% reporting regular use — often without a parent knowing these conversations are happening.
Common Sense Media, 2025
58%
of teens who have seen pornography report exposure to violent or non-consensual content — shaping sexual development during critical brain maturation years
Children's Commissioner for England, 2025
Gaming
Disorder
is now an official medical diagnosis recognized by the WHO (ICD-11) — giving clinicians and families a framework to identify and treat it
WHO ICD-11, 2019–2024 Technical Review
51%
of middle and high schoolers have experienced online harassment at some point — a mental health stressor that shows up in sleep, mood, and school performance
Pew Research Center, 2024
8h 39m
average daily screen media use among teens — more time than most spend sleeping, with direct effects on attention, mood, and physical health
Common Sense Media, 2021 Census
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What the research also consistently shows: families who are informed, who have proactive conversations, and who have basic protections in place are significantly better protected.
See the full research library and downloadable citations →
HOW WE HELP
Our services & programs.
Start wherever makes sense for your family. Everything here is designed to move you from worried to equipped — with medically grounded guidance at every step.
01 · FREE COURSE
Digital Health & Wellness for Families
A free self-paced video course — eight modules of practical, medically grounded guidance built for busy parents. The best place to start, regardless of where your child is right now.
Free — No Cost
02 · COHORT
Transformational Family Cohort
A guided, small-group experience for families ready for lasting change — a real shift in your home's digital culture, led by a medical provider who has seen this from every clinical angle.
Launching Soon
03 · CONSULTATION
Digital Wellness Telehealth Visit
A personalized medical session — assessing your child's tech use through a clinical lens, reviewing the research, and building a customized plan. Telehealth in NH, MA, and HI.
04 · SPEAKING
Parent & Community Presentations
Research-backed presentations for schools, churches, hospitals, and community organizations — with clinical depth and a medical framework.
05 · PROVIDER RESOURCES
Clinical Education & CME Resources
Clinical briefs, workflow tools, and patient education materials for healthcare providers ready to address digital health in pediatric and family practice.
Coming Soon
06 · Media & Resources
Media & Resources
Videos, downloadable handouts, research summaries, and educational content for parents, educators, and clinicians — accessible anytime, anywhere.
Coming Soon
FREE MINI-COURSE
Digital Health & Wellness for Families
Eight modules. Medically grounded. Free. Built for busy parents who want to learn more, without the overwhelm. Start wherever you are. There's no wrong place to begin.
Understanding pornography exposure & the developing brain
Problematic Internet Use, Screen Overuse & Mental Health Risks
Gaming disorder, ADHD vulnerability & behavioral addiction
Online exploitation, grooming & sextortion — what parents must know
AI, deepfakes & emerging digital health threats
The best parental tools & how to actually use them
Building a family digital safety plan that lasts
How to have real, effective conversations with your kids
SELF-PACED VIDEO COURSE
Free
no cost · lifetime access
✓ 8 in-depth video modules
✓ Downloadable parent handouts
✓ Research-backed with full citations
✓ Medically grounded framework
✓ Start in under 5 minutes
COMING SOON
The Transformational Family Cohort
The course gives you knowledge. The cohort creates transformation. A guided, small-group experience for families ready to regain control.
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Small cohorts — real accountability and personalized guidance
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Live sessions led by Joel Furnanz, FNP-C
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A community of proactive, like-minded families
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Medically grounded framework for lasting digital culture change at home
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Faith-integrated track available
Interest list members receive early access and founding member pricing.
JOIN THE INTEREST LIST
Be First When Enrollment Opens
Reserve your spot and receive founding member pricing when we launch.
FREE RESOURCES
Clinical handouts, research summaries, and recommended tools.
Downloadable, citation-backed materials for parents and providers, plus a short list of parental-control tools and apps we recommend — all in one place.
REVIEWS
What our patients say
Digital health reviews are coming as our practice grows. See what patients have already said about Seek Health New England.
5.0
★★★★★
Google Reviews
Seek Health New England
Digital Health Reviews Coming Soon
We're in the early stages of our digital health practice. If you've worked with us, we'd love to hear from you — your review helps other families find the medical support they need.
Or send your testimonial to info@seekhealthnewengland.com
FAQS
Frequently asked questions.
Q
Why does a medical provider need to be involved in this?
Because the effects of technology on children show up as medical problems — anxiety, depression, sleep disorders, attention struggles, behavioral changes, and more. A medical approach means evaluating the whole child through the same clinical lens we'd use for nutrition, sleep, or exercise — not just addressing behavior.
Q
What if my child has already been exposed to something harmful?
It's not too late — and you haven't failed. Early exposure is incredibly common, and children are remarkably resilient with the right support and honest conversations. The mini-course and a telehealth visit are both good starting points. There is always a path forward.
Q
What are the clinical signs of digital overuse or addiction?
From a medical perspective, we look at sleep disruption, mood changes, increased irritability when not using devices, social withdrawal, declining academics, loss of interest in other activities, and physical health changes. These often appear before parents connect them to screen use — which is exactly the gap this practice addresses.
Q
Do you offer telehealth visits, and where are you licensed?
Yes — we are currently offering telehealth visits only (no in-office visits at this time), including New Hampshire and Massachusetts, with more states in progress. Reach out to inquire about your state — we're happy to let you know where things stand, or add you to the list for when we're able to see you.
Q
What if I'm not in a licensed state?
The free mini-course, all downloadable resources, and the coming cohort program are available to anyone, anywhere — no state restriction applies. Only the telehealth medical consultation requires licensure in your state.
Q
Do you take insurance?
Telehealth consultations are self-pay, which allows for longer, more personalized visits without insurance restrictions. Receipts are available for FSA/HSA reimbursement. The free mini-course and resources have no cost at all.
Stay informed. Stay equipped.
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Your child can grow up
healthy, safe, and resilient.
That's not a wish — it's a clinical outcome that's within reach for every family. It starts with understanding what's actually happening, and having a clinician who can help you navigate it. The first step is free.
Already worried something has happened? That's okay — there is still a path forward, and it starts here.