Take the Stress Out of Social Media
10 Critical Conversations for Engaging with Youth about Healthy Social Media Use
Social media remains one of the hottest (and most anxiety-inducing) topics in adolescent health and mental health. The Surgeon General has called for warning labels on platforms, news headlines scream amplify dangers of overuse, and yet nearly half of teens say they use the internet "almost constantly" according to a 2023 study by the Pew Research Center. While conversations about potential harms dominate the discourse, practical strategies for helping young people develop healthy social media habits are typically lacking. This workshop fills that gap. You'll learn ten critical conversations that every youth-serving professional should be having with adolescents about social media, from privacy and relationships to comparison culture and digital wellness. Through a strengths-based, tech-positive lens, you'll gain key questions, conversation starters, and practical takeaways for partnering with young people to set realistic boundaries while also understanding social media's potential for connection and growth. Whether you're feeling overwhelmed by the constant stream of alarming headlines or unsure how to move beyond "just put the phone down," you'll walk away with concrete tools to take the stress out of these conversations - for you and the teens you serve.
Learning Objectives
As a result of this workshop, participants will be able to:
Apply a strengths-based, tech-positive approach when working with youth around social media and technology
Identify ten key content areas critical to supporting healthy social media use among adolescents
Differentiate between helpful and harmful social media use patterns in adolescents and describe appropriate responses to each
Use conversation starters and strategies to effectively engage youth in discussions about healthy social media habits and digital wellness
