Social media use among youth is on the rise. Some young people are spending significant amounts of time on social media sites, according to a report by Common Sense Media. Many news outlets have reported concerns from caregivers, educators, primary and behavioral health providers, and policy makers, documenting the mental and physical toll that this digital immersion can cause. The ubiquity of social media use has been linked to low self-esteem, disordered eating, negative body images, bullying, and other deleterious consequences. At the same time, social media is also a tool that offers endless information, communication, and allows youth to develop online identities, and build social networks. These networks can provide valuable support, especially for those who experience exclusion, persecution or have disabilities.
The Pacific Southwest MHTTC has gathered a group of leaders in the fields of social science research, mental health and youth advocacy to explore the risk factors and benefits of social media for young people, and identify strategies for fostering a more empowered, healthier relationship with this technology. This session provides a nuanced view of both the perils and powers of social media use. We invite providers who work with youth and young adults to this session to learn strategies that encourage clients to engage in self-regulation, self-reflection, and self-awareness in the digital environment.
This event is open to all mental health or school mental health professionals, including counselors, psychologists, marriage and family therapists, peer supporters, mental health program administrators, and other allied health professionals.
Linda Charmaraman, PhD, Senior Research Scientist; Director, Youth, Media & Wellbeing Research Lab, Wellesley College, Wellesley Centers for Women (she/hers)Dr. Linda Charmaraman is a senior research scientist at the Wellesley Centers for Women (WCW) and received her PhD in Human Development and Education from University of California Berkeley. As Founder and Director of the Youth, Media, and Wellbeing Research Lab (YMW), her research focuses on diverse adolescents’ risk and resilience using social technologies. Along with her lab of undergraduate and graduate students and a (teen) Youth Advisory Board, she has been organizing weeklong virtual Digital Wellbeing Summer workshops for middle school girls across the country (free of charge to families). Media mentions include New York Times, Washington Post, NPR, Good Morning America, ABC News, NBC News, Discover Magazine, The Conversation, and others. In 2023, Dr. Charmaraman provided written testimony for the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary hearing regarding Protecting Our Children Online. She also co-authored the 2023 American Psychological Association’s health advisory on social media use in adolescence.
Emma Lembke, Founder, CEO, Log OFF Movement (she/hers)Emma Lembke is a 20-year-old youth digital advocate at Washington University in St Louis working to address social media’s impact on younger generations. As a senior in high school, Lembke founded LOG OFF, a youth movement dedicated to uplifting and empowering youth to tackle the complexities of social media and its impact on their privacy, safety, and mental health. As a youth-led movement, LOG OFF provides an often overlooked and critical perspective on social media by leveraging and empowering the underrepresented experts in the field – Generation Z. Emma also co-chairs Design It For Us the only youth-led coalition pushing for online platforms and social media to be designed with kids and teens in mind, rather than as an afterthought. Her efforts have been covered by numerous media outlets including the New York Times, 60 Minutes, CBS, MTV, npr, The Hill, and Bloomberg.
Tiera Tanksley, PhD, Assistant Professor, University of Colorado, Boulder (she/hers)Dr. Tiera Tanksley is an Assistant Professor of Equity, Diversity and Justice in Education at the University of Colorado Boulder. Her scholarship, which theorizes a critical race technology theory (CRTT) in education, extends conventional education research to include sociotechnical and techno-structural analyses of digital and artificially intelligent (AI) technologies. Specifically, Dr. Tanksley’s research examines anti-Blackness as “the default setting” of technology and examines the socioemotional, mental health and consequences of algorithmic racism in the lives and schooling experiences of Black youth. Her work simultaneously recognizes Black youth as digital activities and civic agitators, and examines the complex ways they subvert, resist and rewrite racially biased technologies to produce more and joyous digital experiences for Communities of Color across the diaspora.
Dr. Tanksley’s scholarship has been awarded several competitive grants in computer science, robotics and engineering. Most recently, she was awarded an Engineers and AI-Augmented Learning grant for her research on Abolitionist Approaches to AI, in which she collaborated with Black youth to design race-conscious and justice-oriented technologies. In 2022, Dr. Tanksley received the Emerging Leader in Critical Race Technology Studies Fellowship from UCLA.
Skyler Blankenship, M.A., LLPC, Outpatient Therapist (they/them/theirs)Skyler Blankenship is a local outpatient therapist in Grand Rapids Michigan. Skyler specializes in working with LGBTQIA+ as well as neurodivergent youth and young adults. Skyler spends much of their time advocating and educating on transgender topics such as Identity Affirmation and its mental health impacts on transgender youth as well as education on transgender identities for providers to bring educated and comprehensive services to these youth. They have been working in advocacy for transgender rights and education for 10 years, even creating an organization previously to address disparities of transgender young adults in Mid Michigan. They continue their work with transgender youth as a therapist and community member to address and minimize adversity faced by transgender youth and beyond.
