Facilitators

Denise Dickinson, RTI International

Chloe McIntosh, RTI International

Purpose and Procedure

This Share and Learn session will provide Sexual Risk Avoidance Education (SRAE) grantees an opportunity to dialogue and exchange ideas with each other about how to promote healthy social media use among teens. According to a Pew Research Center survey of American teens conducted in 2022, 97% of teens aged 13–17 reported being online daily.^[i] Studies have also shown that social media use is linked to anxiety, depression and lowered self-esteem among teens.^[ii],[iii]  Therefore, it is important to teach teens how to regulate their use of social media so they can reap its benefits while avoiding negative consequences.

During the call, grantees will

• Discuss the role social media plays in the lives of today’s youth.
• Identify common unhealthy social media habits among teens.
• Enumerate some negative outcomes of poor social media use and why it is important that SRAE grantees help youth develop healthy social media habits.
• Exchange strategies grantees are using to promote healthy social media habits among the youth in their programs.

Participants will have the opportunity to share their experiences, resources, and questions with other grantees. Please come prepared to engage in the discussion and share your ideas and experiences. We encourage grantees who have innovative approaches or ideas for teaching youth about healthy social media use to attend. A post-discussion email will be sent to participants with available resources. Space is limited to 35 participants. Please email sraetta@rti.org with any questions you may have.

[i] Vogels, E. A., Gelles-Watnick, R., & Massarat, N. (2022). Teens, social media and technology 2022. Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2022/08/10/teens-social-media-and-technology-2022/

[ii] https://psychnews.psychiatryonline.org/doi/10.1176/appi.pn.2017.1b16

[iii] https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/article-abstract/2737909