Dr. Don Grant is an internationally recognized and award-winning media psychologist, author, researcher, Doctoral Addictions Counselor, and educator with specific expertise in technology's impact on mental health, and the National Advisor of Healthy Device Management for Newport Healthcare. He is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association (APA), Past President of the APA Division 46 (The Society for Media Psychology & Technology), and currently serves as a Division 46 Executive Board Member At Large, and Chair of the APA (D46) “Device Management & Intelligence” committee. He is also an APA Advocacy Division Partner Liaison, APA Division Science Partner, and Treasurerof the California Psychological Association Division VI (Media Technology and Communication).
Dr. Grant designs and facilitates “Healthy Device Management” and “Good Digital Citizenship” treatment strategy and educational training workshops for clinicians, practitioners, educators, parents, and academic communities. He is a globally respected and popular conference keynote speaker, webinar, podcast, onscreen broadcast interview guest, and print content contributor on device related behaviors, addiction, and media psychology. His on camera, print, interview, and content publication contributions include: The Wall Street Journal, The Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, The New York Times, Time Magazine, Forbes, The Hill, The Hollywood Reporter, Business Insider, APA Monitor on Psychology, NewsNation, Wondermind, CNN, ABC News, CBS News, NBC networks, Fox News Networks, The Daily Show, and a two-page People Magazine feature story about him and his work.
His current research includes a recently completed national study in partnership with the Newport Healthcare Center for Research and Innovationinvestigating his theories surrounding the potential impact of a caregiver’s device use behaviors on attachment bonds. Dr. Grant is also engaged in explorations of the potential impact of A.I. and “chatbot companions” on users, identity construct effects of social media, para-social-media relationships, and cyberaggression targeted towards adolescents, teens, young adults, families, and our culture/relationships-at-large.
Other recent and current projects include: serving on the “Expert Advisory Panel” on behalf of two recently released APA scientific reports (one exploring the A.I. chatbot phenomenon and another on healthy teen video viewing), an international publisher commissioned “Healthy Device Management and Practices of Good Digital Citizenship” treatment curriculum workbook designed specifically for practitioners, treatment programs, and educators, serving as Chapter Leader, Co-Editor, and contributing author in collaboration with a cohort of global experts on several chapters recently published in a special handbook by Springer Publishing (in partnership with Children and Screens: Institute of Digital Media and Child Development), as a chapter author on the beliefs, behaviors, and impacts of device-centric engagement for two academic handbooks with specific focus on device-centric behaviors, and partnering with the National Association of Behavioral Healthcare “Youth Services Committee” on the development, content creation, and launch of “Safe Connections,” their new national “Youth Services Cyberhealth” campaign.