Melanie Hempe

After her oldest son dropped out of college due to his video game addiction, Melanie Hempe, BSN, utilized her nursing degree from Emory University to warn families about the dangers of screen overuse and founded ScreenStrong. Melanie simplifies medical science for parents, empowering them with the reasons to skip not all screen use but the most harmful screen use—social media, violent video games, and pornography—through adolescence. This proactive approach reduces mental health risks, prevents addiction, and encourages life skills.

Melanie’s knack for simplifying medical science and offering practical solutions has made her a nationally recognized advocate. Under her leadership, ScreenStrong has become a beacon of hope for families seeking to prevent or overcome childhood screen conflicts and addiction. ScreenStrong has won the hearts of many families who are preventing and reversing childhood screen conflicts and addiction and are thrilled to experience a newfound freedom in their lives.

Melanie hosts the popular weekly ScreenStrong Families Podcast and has been featured in Psychology Today, The Wall Street Journal, A&E Network, CBS, CNN, NPR, Screened Out (the movie), and many other news and television outlets. Her ScreenStrong Kids’ Brains and Screens Courses are available for parents and students. Her four books include, “Kids’ Brains & Screens: A ScreenStrong Student Course,” “Will Your Gamer Survive College?” “Can Your Teen Survive—and Thrive—Without a Smartphone?” and “The ScreenStrong Solution: How to Free Your Child from Addictive Screen Habits.”

Melanie hopes that no child will experience the pain of screen addiction that her family went through. She lives in North Carolina with her husband and four children. They are delighted to trade hours spent on screens for reading good books, spending time with friends, and sharing plenty of family fun. It’s never too late to win back your kids, and ScreenStrong is here to help you do that!