ABOUT
A clinical lens on children's digital health.
Center for Healthy Digital Development brings evidence-based medicine and developmental neuroscience to the conversation families are already having about screens — the same way a clinician would evaluate nutrition, sleep, or exercise.
WHY THIS MATTERS
The scale of what children are facing.
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
FNP-C
FAMILY NURSE PRACTITIONER
YOUR GUIDE
Joel Furnanz, FNP-C
Family Nurse Practitioner · Founder, Seek Health New England
FAMILY NURSE PRACTITIONER
FOUNDER
TELEHEALTH · NH, MA & HI
Client copy to be provided — a short bio introducing Joel, his background, and why he built the Center for Healthy Digital Development.
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.
— Joel Furnanz, FNP-C
OUR MISSION
Protecting childhood in a digital world.
Protecting Childhood
Our goal is to help children develop healthy brains, healthy relationships, and lifelong resilience in a world where technology is unavoidable.
.png)
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.
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.
OUR APPROACH
Digital wellness as preventive pediatric care.
We believe digital wellness belongs alongside nutrition, sleep, exercise, and mental health as a foundational part of preventive pediatric care.
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.
.png)
Equipping Families
We evaluate how digital habits affect the body's interconnected systems — from sleep and circadian rhythms to attention, stress physiology, emotional regulation, relationships, and healthy brain maturation.
.png)
Practical Family Strategies
Practical strategies families can realistically sustain — not overwhelming checklists. We help parents understand one of the newest determinants of child health: the digital environment.