Screenagers Movies, All Five Explained: Which One to Watch First

There are five Screenagers movies, not one, and picking the wrong one is the most common mistake parents make when a school offers a screening. The original 2016 documentary asked whether a 13-year-old should get an iPhone. The newest, Screenagers: Generation AI (2026), asks what chatbots are doing to kids’ friendships and homework. In between came films on teen anxiety, on vaping and drugs, and one made for families of elementary-school kids. Each runs about an hour, each has a shorter classroom cut, and all are shown mainly at school and community screenings. Here is what each covers, who it fits, and how the series’ argument has changed in ten years, including where critics push back.

Key Takeaways

• The five films: Screenagers (2016, updated for 2025/26), Next Chapter (2019), Under the Influence (around 2023), Elementary School Age Edition (2024) and Generation AI (September 2026).
• Four are suggested for grade 6 and up; the Elementary School Age Edition is suggested for K–5 and adults.
• Pick by your current worry: phones and gaming (original), anxiety (Next Chapter), substances (Under the Influence), young kids and school phone policy (Elementary), chatbots and deepfakes (Generation AI).
• The series’ argument has shifted from “set limits at home” to “change schools, products and laws,” and its newest film says it is “not anti-AI.”
• Critics, including many kid reviewers, call the original one-sided. The newest research on screen time finds effects that are real but smaller than the films’ tone suggests.

What the Screenagers Movies Are

The Screenagers movies are a documentary series made by physician-filmmaker Delaney Ruston, with producer Lisa Tabb, about how screens and now AI affect children’s development, families and schools. They are distributed mainly through screening licenses bought by schools, parent groups and community organizations rather than through streaming. The filmmakers said in May 2026 that more than 20,000 screenings of their films had taken place across the US. Most films offer subtitles in English and Spanish, and several in French and other languages.

Every film follows the same recipe: Ruston’s own family as the thread, a few families and schools as case studies, a dozen or so expert interviews, and practical steps at the end. That consistency is a strength for schools. It also means the films share the same blind spots.

The Five Films, One by One

Screenagers: Growing Up in the Digital Age (2016)

The original follows Ruston deciding whether to give her daughter Tessa a smartphone, and widens to tech overuse, video games, social media, schoolwork and sleep. Common Sense Media rated it age 10+ and summed it up as “relevant, if not revolutionary.” Its review called the advice helpful but “somewhat alarmist in tone” and noted a dated focus on violent video games.

The film has since been updated for 2025/26, according to the official page, with “the latest science, research, and expert insights.” The current version runs 63 minutes (45 in the classroom version) and is suggested for grade 6 and up. Experts include Jonathan Haidt, Sherry Turkle, Dimitri Christakis, and sleep researchers Judy Owens and Lauren Hale.

Best for: families deciding on a first phone, or arguing about gaming.

Screenagers Next Chapter (2019)

The second film, subtitled Uncovering Skills for Stress Resilience in its press release, turns to teen stress, anxiety and depression. Ruston follows her own struggle to help her teens and visits schools and families using evidence-based approaches such as emotional agility, mindfulness, exposure and behavioral activation, plus student-led wellness clubs. It also asks how social media may affect mood. It runs 63 minutes (50 classroom), grade 6 and up. The site gives no release date; its press release was online by September 2019, per the Internet Archive.

Best for: families worried about anxiety, and anyone who wants skills more than warnings. It is the most practical of the five.

Screenagers Under the Influence (around 2023)

The third feature looks at how digital life shapes teen decisions about vaping, drugs and alcohol. The official page says that unlike most substance-use documentaries, it focuses on everyday situations rather than severe addiction, debunks myths and offers strategies for limits. Experts include Anna Lembke, Nora Volkow, Lisa Damour and Yasmin Hurd. It runs 63 minutes (49 classroom), grade 6 and up. The site gives no release year; it lists festival selections starting in 2023.

Best for: middle-schoolers about to enter high school, and parents who want a substance-use talk that isn’t a scare film. We cover how it connects to chatbots answering drug questions in Screenagers Under the Influence and the rise of AI drug advice.

Screenagers: Elementary School Age Edition (2024)

The fourth film, announced in August 2024 and released that September, is aimed at parents and educators of elementary-age children. It covers early exposure to online content, gaming, classroom device distraction and sleep, features experts including Jonathan Haidt, Anna Lembke and Dimitri Christakis, and promotes the Away For The Day campaign for phone-free school days. It runs 56 minutes (26 classroom) and is suggested for K–5 and adults.

Best for: parents of 5- to 10-year-olds, and elementary schools debating phone and smartwatch rules. See our breakdown of the Elementary School Edition and what research says about kids 5 to 10.

Screenagers: Generation AI (2026)

The fifth film, co-directed by Ruston and Tabb and released September 8, 2026, covers chatbots used for advice and emotional support, AI-written schoolwork, deepfake harassment and AI content that encourages harm. It runs 60 minutes (45 classroom), grade 6 and up, with 14 experts including Lisa Damour, Anna Lembke, Rebecca Winthrop and Robbie Torney of Common Sense Media. Ruston wrote that “This isn’t an anti-AI film.”

Best for: families of tweens and teens who use chatbots, which by Common Sense Media’s October 2026 census includes 73% of 13-year-olds. Our full guide: Screenagers: Generation AI, explained.

Which Screenagers Movie Fits Your Family

Film	Year	Runtime (classroom)	Suggested age	Main topic	Watch first if…
Screenagers (updated 25/26)	2016	63 min (45)	Grade 6+ (Common Sense: 10+)	Phones, gaming, social media, sleep	You’re deciding on a first phone
Next Chapter	2019	63 min (50)	Grade 6+	Stress, anxiety, depression, coping skills	Your kid seems anxious or overwhelmed
Under the Influence	~2023	63 min (49)	Grade 6+	Vaping, drugs, alcohol and media	High school is coming
Elementary School Age Edition	2024	56 min (26)	K–5 and adults	Young kids and screens, phone-free schools	Your kids are 5 to 10
Generation AI	2026	60 min (45)	Grade 6+	Chatbots, deepfakes, AI homework	Your kid uses AI chatbots

Runtimes are from the official film pages as of November 2026; the site lists different figures on different pages for some films, so check before you book a room.

How the Series’ Argument Has Shifted in Ten Years

Watch the films in order and you can see the argument move.

2016: the household. The original film is about one family’s decision and the limits parents set. The fix is mostly at home: rules, contracts, phones out of bedrooms.

2019: skills. Next Chapter shifts from limiting screens to building teens’ emotional skills. Screens are one factor among many in mental health.

2023–2024: the school. Under the Influence and the Elementary edition lean on schools and peers. The Away For The Day campaign, launched by the team in 2017, becomes a central call to action as states pass phone restrictions.

2026: the product. Generation AI aims at how AI products are designed and regulated. In launch coverage, Tabb said “collective action” is how families will solve this. Ruston’s message is that society waited too long with social media: “We can’t afford to repeat that mistake with AI.”

That arc, from “what should my family do” to “what should companies and lawmakers do,” is the most interesting thing about the series. It also matches where pediatric guidance has gone. The American Academy of Pediatrics’ January 2026 policy statement on digital media took a similar wide-angle view, from the child and family out to industry and law.

Where Critics Push Back

Two criticisms come up often, and both are fair to raise with your kids.

Tone. Kid reviewers on Common Sense Media, 31 of them, mostly found the original one-sided, focused on downsides, and said it portrayed teens as unable to control their screen use. Common Sense’s own reviewer called it somewhat alarmist. Expect teens to say similar things about later films, and treat that as a discussion point, not rudeness.

The size of the effect. The newest research is more modest than the films’ framing. A September 2026 umbrella review in JAMA Pediatrics, pooling 23 meta-analyses and 2.8 million children, found screen use linked to lower academic achievement (r = −0.15) and more internalizing problems (r = 0.10): real, but small, and mostly from studies that cannot show cause. A 2026 study of 25,629 Manchester adolescents in the Journal of Public Health found no evidence that time on social media or gaming predicted later anxiety or depression. A 2026 Scottish cohort study in JAMA Network Open found no consistent link between screen use and children’s difficulties at ages 5 and 10.

None of that makes the films wrong. Content, sleep and what screens crowd out matter, and the films say so. It means “time on screens” alone is a weaker signal than the series sometimes implies.

How to Use the Films at Home

Match the film to the worry, not the newest release

If your 12-year-old’s anxiety is the issue, Next Chapter will do more than Generation AI. Ask the host school which film it is showing before you go.

Watch together and let your kid critique it

Ask “What did it get right? What did it get wrong?” before you share your view. Kids engage more as critics than as an audience.

Pair each film with one small family decision

The films end with practical steps. Pick one and try it for a month, such as phones charging outside bedrooms, rather than adopting everything at once.

What not to do

Don’t show a 7-year-old a film designed for grade 6 and up because it’s the one being screened. Don’t use any film as proof in an argument you’ve already been having; your kid will argue with you instead of thinking about the film.

What to Watch For Over the Next 3 Months

• Week 4: Did the film lead to at least one follow-up conversation? Did you try the one change you picked?
• Month 2 red flags: the film became a weapon in family arguments, or your kid started hiding screen or AI use after a new rule.
• Month 3 self-check: Would the next film in the series fit a concern that has come up since? If your school has shown one, ask whether it plans another.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many Screenagers movies are there?

Five: Screenagers: Growing Up in the Digital Age (2016, updated for 2025/26), Screenagers Next Chapter (2019), Screenagers Under the Influence (around 2023), Screenagers: Elementary School Age Edition (2024) and Screenagers: Generation AI (September 2026). All are by Delaney Ruston with producer Lisa Tabb.

Which Screenagers movie should I watch first?

Pick by your child’s age and your current concern. For a first-phone decision, the updated original. For anxiety, Next Chapter. For substances, Under the Influence. For kids 5 to 10, the Elementary School Age Edition. For chatbots and deepfakes, Generation AI.

What age are the Screenagers movies for?

Four are suggested for grade 6 and up plus adults. Common Sense Media rated the 2016 original age 10+. The Elementary School Age Edition is suggested for K–5 and adults. Preview any film first if your child is sensitive.

Can I stream the Screenagers movies?

They are distributed mainly through school and community screenings. Organizations buy a one-time screening license or a membership through the Screenagers website, which includes discussion guides. Ask your school or district whether it has a membership or will host a screening.

Are the Screenagers movies biased?

They are advocacy documentaries with a point of view. Common Sense Media called the original “somewhat alarmist,” and many kid reviewers called it one-sided. The newest films lean more on policy and product design, and Generation AI says it is not anti-AI. Watch with a critical eye and invite your kid to do the same.

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About the author

Ricky Flores is the founder of HiWave Makers and an electrical engineer with 15+ years of experience building consumer technology at Apple, Samsung, and Texas Instruments. He writes about how kids learn to build, think, and create in a tech-saturated world. Read more at hiwavemakers.com.

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Sources

1. Robledo, S. J. “Screenagers: Movie review.” Common Sense Media. https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/screenagers
2. Common Sense Media. “Screenagers: Kid reviews.” https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/screenagers/user-reviews/child
3. Screenagers. “About Screenagers: Growing Up in the Digital Age” (updated 2025/26). https://screenagersmovie.com/about-screenagers
4. Screenagers. “About Screenagers Next Chapter.” https://screenagersmovie.com/about-screenagers-next-chapter ; press release archived September 24, 2019: http://web.archive.org/web/20190924090551/https://www.screenagersmovie.com/press-release-nc
5. Screenagers. “About Screenagers Under the Influence.” https://screenagersmovie.com/about-screenagers-under-the-influence
6. Screenagers. (2024, August 13). “Introducing Our New Movie - Screenagers: Elementary School Age Edition.” https://screenagersmovie.com/blog/introducing-our-new-movie-saes ; film page: https://screenagersmovie.com/about-screenagers-elementary
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11. Cheng, Q., Panayiotou, M., Finserås, T. R., Andersen, A. I. O., & Humphrey, N. (2026). “How do social media use, gaming frequency, and internalizing symptoms predict each other over time in early-to-middle adolescence?” Journal of Public Health. https://doi.org/10.1093/pubmed/fdaf150
12. McQuaid, F., Skafida, V., McQuillan, R., & Lee, B. (2026). “Screen Use and Emotional, Behavioral, and Social Development in Children.” JAMA Network Open. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2026.26804
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