Attorney General Dave Sunday continued his series of teenTALK events by meeting with Berks County students this week to discuss the impacts of social media on mental health.<\/p>\n
Students from numerous Berks County school districts participated in the open discussion with Attorney General Sunday. Many of them shared that they understood how important social media is for connection with their peers, but that there are many trends and habits that are dangerous to their mental health and their development.<\/p>\n
The Office of Attorney General is compiling student opinions to evaluate ways the office can advocate for students and schools and contribute to safer spaces being available online.<\/p>\n
\u201cHearing directly from students about how social media affects their lives is incredibly valuable,\u201d Attorney General Sunday said. \u201cThe students were honest about the benefits \u2014 and many difficulties \u2014 that come with spending so much time online. Their voices can help shape conversations about how we can best support young people\u2019s mental health and encourage healthier ways to engage online and on social media.\u201d<\/p>\n
Students participating in the discussion represented the Berks Co. Intermediate Unit\u2019s Pathways to Adult Living Program, Berks Catholic High School, Boyertown Area School District, Exeter Township School District, Muhlenberg School District, Reading School District, Tulpehocken Area High School, and Wyomissing Area School District.<\/p>\n
School leaders and staff also attended the event.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are grateful that Attorney General Dave Sunday brought the teenTALK roundtable to Berks County,\u201d Dr. Jill Hackman, Executive Director of the Berks County Intermediate Unit, said. \u201cHearing directly from students about how social media and emerging technologies shape their lives is essential as we work together to support their safety and well-being.\u201d<\/p>\n
During this week\u2019s teenTALK session, students spoke freely about their personal experiences with social media and how it impacts their mental health and relationships with their peers and loved ones.<\/p>\n
Several students discussed the need for better oversight and restriction on the platforms in ways that are appropriate for the ages of the users. Although complicated, options like \u201cKids\u201d versions of apps and better moderation of content and posts across the board is needed for younger users.<\/p>\n
There also was a desire to have continued and diversified education about social media. Students said one assembly in middle school was often too late and not engaging enough. Kids are already online at that point, and there isn\u2019t enough clarity on the direct impacts social media can have throughout their lives.<\/p>\n
Across the board, students said social media affects their mood, stress levels, and overall well-being on a daily basis.<\/p>\n
Students with concerns about their own or other\u2019s mental health are encouraged to report any issues through the Office of Attorney General\u2019s Safe2Say Something program. This program allows students to anonymously report concerns or incidents or violence and threats at their schools and communities involving gun violence, bullying, and threats of self-harm.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Attorney General Dave Sunday continued his series of teenTALK events by meeting with Berks County students this week…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":140005,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[128,130,129],"class_list":["post-140004","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-reading","tag-reading-city","tag-reading-city-headlines","tag-reading-city-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/140004","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=140004"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/140004\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/140005"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=140004"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=140004"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=140004"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}