Benjamin, 13
Media Consumption: About 3 hours per day during the week, and about 6 hours per day on the weekends
Favorite Media/Technology: I really like YouTube and Discord, which I use on my iPhone
How do you and your family interact with media/technology?
My dad has the NextDoor app so that he can connect with our neighbors, but other than that my parents don’t use social media. My grandma has Facebook, though, and she posts pictures of me which are sometimes cute but other times I wish she would let me see the pictures first. My parents set rules for what I can access online–I’m not allowed on Instagram or Twitter. I don’t know why, but I just listen to my parents’ rules.
How do you and your peers interact with media/technology?
Sometimes when my best friend watches the same videos as me on YouTube we’ll talk about it but I mostly interact with my friends on Discord and Snapchat. On Discord, my friends and I have a group chat where we always talk about something different–one day we’ll talk about homework, the next day we’ll talk about funny meme pictures. I used to keep Snapchat streaks with my friends but I don’t really anymore. People my age keep Snapchat streaks to show off their popularity with their high “Snap Scores” because they care a lot about that.
What do you use media for?
I mostly use Snapchat and Discord to be social and connect with my friends. I use YouTube for entertainment and to watch comedic videos. I don’t really play as many games on my phone as I used to.
What is your favorite/least favorite thing about media/technology?
I like using YouTube because it has a positive environment. I also like how social media is a good way to connect with people and be able to talk to friends. I don’t like how apps like TikTok are toxic and negative. There’s a lot of cyberbullying on social media and people say a lot of things online that they wouldn’t say in person. Sometimes the hate comments on other people’s videos can make me feel bad about myself.
What is one thing you want the people who create the media you like to watch/play/interact with to know?
I get a lot of ads on YouTube, usually for Grammarly or different game apps. YouTube should know that I don’t pay attention to their ads, and I always skip them right away.
What media are you using more now because of the COVID-19 pandemic?
During remote learning, I watched a lot of YouTube–a lot more than before quarantine. I didn’t watch it during classes because I had to pay attention to those but I watched it while I was doing homework.
Where do you get most of your information to learn more about changes during the COVID-19 pandemic (e.g., news, internet, parents, etc.)?
My parents watch the news and then they tell me about things like changes to online learning or vaccine requirements.
What media has been helping you stay busy/stay calm during the COVID-19 pandemic?
Every day during quarantine I watched something different on YouTube. I was just trying to find something to fill in the blanks in my day because I wasn’t able to do a lot. I thought that since there was nothing to do I could watch someone else do something on YouTube.
What lessons have you learned from the COVID-19 pandemic?
It’s really important to keep in touch with friends online when you can’t see them in person.
Have you learned anything about how you use media and technology because of the COVID-19 pandemic?
I use a lot more media when I’m bored. It’s kind of a last resort for me. I use media to feel better and be entertained with funny YouTube videos. I also think social media is a really good way to connect with friends.
Interviewed by: Sophie Lawrence, UCLA 3rd Year student
Ani, 17
Media Consumption: Daily, about 5 hours
Favorite Media/Technology: Goodreads
How do you and your family interact with media/technology?
We usually watch TV together, like our favorite shows or movies, when my parents and sister are all home. We also have a family group chat where we text about stuff that happens during the day.
How do you and your peers interact with media/technology?
Well, I use Zoom every day for school, so we talk to each other that way a lot during class. We also use Discord to talk about our Youth & Government club and plan events.
What do you use media for?
I use it for entertainment and to find new books on Goodreads. I’ll use TikTok a lot to watch funny videos, and I’ll use Instagram and Discord to chat with my friends.
What is your favorite/least favorite thing about media and technology?
My favorite thing is that I can connect with my friends really often. I like how easy it is to talk to people. My least favorite thing is how I lose track of time, especially on TikTok. When I’m on TikTok, the time on my phone disappears, and it gets really easy to forget how long I’ve been on the app.
What is one thing you want the people who create the media you like to watch/play/interact with to know?
This one is really hard. Maybe I would tell them to stop making everything so addicting. All of these social media apps can be really addicting and take up most of my time in my day.
What media are you using more now because of the COVID-19 Pandemic?
Definitely Zoom, because all of my classes have been on Zoom for a long time now. I’ve been using Discord a lot too for my clubs, because that’s where we plan stuff.
Where do you get most of your information to learn more about changes during the COVID-19 Pandemic?
I get my news through infographics on Instagram and short videos on TikTok. People post a lot of those things and talk about current events, so it’s easy to keep up with everything that way.
What media has been helping you stay busy/calm during the COVID-19 Pandemic?
Goodreads has really helped me stay busy and calm. I love to read, and it’s really fun to go on Goodreads and check off books from my list and rate them, and also find new books to read that other people recommend.
What lessons have you learned from the COVID-19 Pandemic?
I guess I’ve learned to be patient. I can’t control everything, so I’ve learned to just do my best and see what happens.
Have you learned anything about how you use media and technology because of the COVID-19 Pandemic?
I’ve learned that I use technology way more than I used to. Almost everything is online now, so I’m constantly on my laptop or my phone joining a Zoom call or texting my friends. That’s how I connect with people now.
Interviewed by: Natalie Zadikian, UCLA Student
DS, 15
Media Consumption: very frequent
Favorite Media/Technology: TikTok
How do you and your family interact with media/technology?
We all talk on WhatsApp and Zoom together, and I used to play video games with my brother. My mom’s constantly on her phone, most of the time it’s like she doesn’t even hear me, so I just go on my phone too.
How do you and your peers interact with media/technology?
We text each other and use it to make plans (virtually & in real life), or we game together. But sometimes when we’re all hanging out, everyone will be on their own phone individually so it’s like everyone stays by themselves on their phone, so I do it too.
What do you use media for?
I use it to chill and to not think about other stuff, like to distract myself. I use it for fun like gaming and to talk to friends too.
What is your favorite/least favorite thing about media/technology?
My favorite thing is TikTok because it’s so relatable and funny, it’s just like entertaining, you know? But my least favorite thing is like the outcome of using it, like I end up spending so much time on it.
What is one thing you want the people who create the media you like to watch/play/interact with to know?
They suck. They make your “For You” page (TikTok feed) things that you personally like so that you can't stop using it. They make it so addictive, on purpose.
What media are you using more now because of the COVID-19 pandemic?
Definitely TikTok. I spend most of my time on it. And I guess Zoom/Microsoft Teams because of online classes. Other websites related to school stuff and homework.
Where do you get most of your information to learn more about changes during the COVID-19 pandemic (e.g., news, internet, parents, etc.)?
I mostly get that information from TikTok because people talk about pretty much everything on there, and I guess my family sometimes.
What media has been helping you stay busy/stay calm during the COVID-19 pandemic?
TikTok. I would stay on the app for hours and wouldn't really think about anything else.
What lessons have you learned from the COVID-19 pandemic?
I guess I haven’t really learned anything from the pandemic; I’ve mostly just been trying to get through it.
Have you learned anything about how you use media and technology because of the COVID-19 pandemic?
Well it's not really anything new, but the pandemic showed me just how much time I can spend on social media if I really have to, like if I have nothing else to do. And if I’m trying to distract myself, I guess it showed me I can spend hours on it without getting bored.
Interviewed by: Nora Sfeir, UCLA Student
Ethan, 15
Media Consumption: Average 7 hours per day
Favorite Media/Technology: TikTok, Instagram
How do you and your family interact with media/technology?
My mom and I just text whenever we need something and usually just talk at home. With my older brother, we don’t really text and when we do, it's very dry. We usually just talk at home as well.
How do you and your peers interact with media/technology?
Me and my friends text pretty often, like every day. We also find funny TikToks and share them with each other.
What do you use media for?
For entertainment, to kill time, and have interactions with friends.
What is your favorite/least favorite thing about media/technology?
My favorite thing about the media is just the fact that it entertains me and that I can use it to pass time. But, I don't really like the fact that I use all my free time scrolling because I lose track of time. My least favorite is that it makes me procrastinate and gets me up really late at night. I want to have a good sleep schedule.
What is one thing you want the people who create the media you like to watch/play/interact with to know?
Since the platform is exposed to all ages, I think they should watch what they post because sometimes I catch my younger brother watching some questionable things for his age so I think they should watch what they post.
What media are you using more now because of the coronavirus (COVID-19)?
I think I'm using TikTok a lot more because since we were in quarantine, it led me to use my phone more because we were just indoors. And it made me realize how much TikTok can entertain me so I ended up using it more often.
Where do you get most of your information to learn more about the coronavirus (e.g., news, internet, parents, etc.)?
I don't think I really watch the news because I don’t think people my age really watch the news. I know a lot of people say you shouldn't trust social media for news stuff, but if the video shows proof of a news article or something like that, I usually am quick to believe it, but I don't double check or anything like that. Our school sometimes tells us stuff about COVID-19 and I don’t really hear anything from my parents.
What media has been helping you stay busy/stay calm during the COVID-19 pandemic?
TikTok has kept me distracted during the COVID-19 pandemic.
What lessons have you learned from the COVID-19 pandemic?
I learned that I should have taken advantage of the amount of free time that I had and should have put it into other things like hobbies, instead of video games and social media.
Have you learned anything about how you use media and technology because of the COVID-19 pandemic?
I learned that since everyday was a repeat of social media, eating, and sleeping, you start to realize how much you actually use it and how much it wastes your time.
Interviewed by: Yoo Jung Chang, UCLA Student
‘In the Heights’ celebrates the resilience Washington Heights has used to fight the COVID-19 pandemic
This article originally appeared on The Conversation on June 11, 2021
With camera work that swoops from rooftops to street corners, the film “In the Heights” brings to life the dynamism of northern Manhattan’s Washington Heights neighborhood.
Directed by Jon M. Chu, “In the Heights” updates Lin-Manuel Miranda and Quiara Alegría Hudes’ Tony Award-winning musical of the same name. Set in a changing neighborhood defined by Dominicans and Latino immigrants, the film eloquently expresses the feel of a hardworking place where your block is your home and a 10-minute walk is a journey to another world.
For me, the film hit home. It brought me back to the years I spent researching and writing my book “Crossing Broadway: Washington Heights and the Promise of New York City,” when I interviewed residents, walked police patrols and dug into municipal records.
In Washington Heights, long home to a mosaic of ethnic groups, some people have recoiled from human differences and huddled up in tight but exclusionary enclaves – ignorant of their neighbors at best, nasty toward them at worst.
Other residents, street-smart cosmopolitans, learned to cross racial and ethnic boundaries to save their neighborhood from crime, decayed housing and inadequate schools. In the 1990s, their efforts turned Washington Heights, once known for a murderous drug trade, into a gentrification hot spot.
My book was released in paperback during the fall of 2019. Just five months later, COVID-19 came.
Could a neighborhood already grappling with the challenges of gentrification – a prominent theme of “In the Heights” – survive a global health disaster? And could a film conceived before COVID-19 emerged speak to a city that sometimes seems to be transformed by the pandemic?
So far – and even though Washington Heights stands out in Manhattan for its suffering due to the coronavirus pandemic – the answer is a cautious yes.
But that painful victory, won with vaccines, local institutions and local ingenuity, will be valuable only if enough can be learned from northern Manhattan’s solidarity and activism to build a healthier and more just city as the pandemic recedes.
A neighborhood rife with vulnerabilities
Like other immigrant neighborhoods confronting the pandemic, Washington Heights and Inwood – the neighborhood to its immediate north – faced serious vulnerabilities.
Immigrant labor and business acumen rescued New York City from the urban crisis in the 1970s and 1980s, when white flight, job losses, a withering tax base and high crime devastated the city.
But as my co-author David M. Reimers and I pointed out in “All the Nations Under Heaven: Immigrants, Migrants and the Making of New York,” the rebuilt city is marked by inequality. Rents are astronomic, so families in Washington Heights and Inwood often double up to make costs more bearable. In the face of an easily transmitted disease, overcrowded housing was a ticking bomb.
Residents in these uptown neighborhoods were also endangered by their jobs. In a city where many white-collar workers could work from home on their laptops, a disproportionate number of Washington Heights residents had to venture out to staff stores, clean buildings, deliver groceries and provide health and child care. As one uptown resident told me, her neighbors weren’t worrying about gaining 15 pounds – they were worried whether their next customer would infect them.
Equally troubling, many uptown residents had nowhere to run to. In more affluent neighborhoods, like the Upper East Side where I live, many people with country houses could decamp. In Washington Heights and Inwood, most people hunkered down in their apartments.
Bonds forged in mutual struggle
Nevertheless, Washington Heights and Inwood have strengths born in the hard experience of making a new home in New York.
The neighborhood has long been the destination of newcomers to the city, among them African Americans escaping Jim Crow, Irish immigrants putting behind them political and economic hardship, Puerto Ricans looking for prosperity, Eastern European Jews in flight from pogroms, German Jewish refugees from Nazism and Greeks expelled from Istanbul. In the 1970s, Dominicans fleeing political repression and economic hardship began to arrive in transforming numbers, along with a small but significant number of Soviet Jews escaping anti-Semitism.
For all their differences the German Jews, Soviet Jews and Dominicans had one thing in common: individual and collective memories of living with three brutal dictators – Hitler, Stalin and Rafael Trujillo. Such experiences were traumatic and could foster a tendency to stick to the safety of your own kind, but they also bred resilience.
Starting in the 1970s, and with cumulative impact by the late 1990s, significant numbers of these residents crossed racial and ethnic boundaries to revive and strengthen their neighborhood.
Thirty years later, when federal authority was absent and the pandemic surged, public-spirited residents – fortified by community institutions – stepped up again. In both cases, it was a clear example of what the sociologist Robert J. Sampson has called “collective efficacy.”
The community steps up
Back when the neighborhood was ravaged by the crack epidemic, Dave Crenshaw, the son of African American political activists, took action. Crenshaw set up athletic activities with the Uptown Dreamers – a youth group that combined sports, community service and educational uplift. The program gave young people, especially women, an alternative to dangerous streets.
When the COVID-19 pandemic erupted, Crenshaw built on his track record. He worked with The Community League of the Heights, a community development organization founded in 1952, Word Up, a community bookshop and arts space dating to 2011, and students from Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health. Together, they distributed food and masks, cleaned up grubby street corners, and got people tested and vaccinated.
Further north, the YM-YWHA of Washington Heights and Inwood, founded in 1917, built on its record of serving both Jews and the entire community. Victoria Neznansky – a social worker from the former Soviet Union – worked with her staff to help traumatized families, distribute money to people in need, and bring together two restaurants – one kosher and one Dominican – to feed homebound neighborhood residents.
At Uplift NYC, an uptown nonprofit with strong local roots, Domingo Estevez and Lucas Almonte had anticipated, during the summer of 2020, running summer programs that included a tech camp, basketball and a youth hackathon. When the pandemic struck, they nimbly shifted to providing culturally familiar foods – like plantains, chickens and Cafe Bustelo coffee – to neighbors in need and people who couldn’t go outside.
Arts and media organizations eased the isolation of lockdown. When the pandemic loomed, blogger Led Black, at the local website the Uptown Collective, told readers that “solidarity is the only way forward.” In his posts he shared his griefs and vented his rage at President Donald Trump. He closed every column with “Pa’Lante Siempre Pa’Lante!” or “Forward, Always Forward!”
Inwood Art Works, which promotes local artists and the arts, shut down a film festival scheduled for March 2020 and started “Short Film Fridays,” a weekly presentation of local films on YouTube. The organization also launched the “New York City Quarantine Film Festival,” which explored topics such as life uptown in the COVID-19 pandemic, the beauty of uptown parks and the life of an essential worker.
Dreams of a better life
Of course, Washington Heights suffered during the pandemic.
Beloved local businesses vanished. Foremost among them was Coogan’s, a bar and restaurant that was the unofficial town hall of upper Manhattan, whose life and death were chronicled in the documentary “Coogan’s Way,” which is now screening at film festivals.
Families were forced to live with unemployment, isolation and fear of infection. As the social fabric frayed, loud noise levels and reckless driving of motorcycles and all-terrain vehicles raised alarm. Worst of all, the neighborhood’s residents died at rates greater than in Manhattan overall.
In Washington Heights and the rest of New York City, the coronavirus pandemic exposed long-brewing inequalities. It also illuminated character, community, strong local institutions and dreams of a better life. All these receive loving and lyrical attention in “In the Heights.”
We live, I believe, in an era when it is important to see the strengths that immigrants and their institutions bring to our cities. This film could not have come at a better time.
Professor Emeritus of Journalism and American Studies, Rutgers University - Newark
This article originally appeared on The Conversation
We studied depression messages on YouTube videos and found dangerous and stigmatizing stereotypes prevail
This article originally appeared on The Conversation
Rates of depression have tripled in the U.S. since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, and most recent estimates suggest these numbers remain elevated compared with pre-pandemic rates of mental health problems.
Even before the pandemic, depression was a leading source of disability, affecting over 17 million Americans each year. In a society where mental health education is not uniformly taught in schools, and where most people with depression go untreated, this is a recipe for disaster.
Psychologists have proposed ways to reform mental health care such as increasing access to care through telehealth. These actions are important. However, few experts have provided recommendations for how everyday citizens can flatten the depression curve by reducing stigma.
To better understand why depression stigma persists, my colleagues Ansley Bender and Jon Rottenberg and I examined how depression is depicted in the public sphere. In a recently published study, we systematically coded 327 YouTube videos on depression based on how they presented depression’s causes, prognosis and recommended treatment.
We hoped to gain insight into how one channel of social media presents information on depression. We learned that popular messages on YouTube may unknowingly perpetuate stigma and misconceptions about depression.
Stigma makes depression even harder
While we are no longer in the era of mental institutions and lobotomies, stigma toward depression is alive and well. In a 2018 study that provided 1,173 Americans with a vignette depicting someone with depression, 30% rated them as “violent,” and 20% supported the use of involuntary treatment. In everyday life, many people with depression hear declarations that “depression isn’t real” or “depressed people are just weak and lazy.” Public perception, it seems, either exaggerates or downplays the severity of depression – neither of which captures the truth.
Stigma like this worsens people’s ability to cope with and seek help for depression. For example, a review of 144 studies found that stigma considerably lowers the chance that a person with depression will seek treatment. This is concerning – especially for those who struggle with thoughts of suicide. Former U.S. surgeon general Vice Adm. Jerome M. Adams has called stigma the nation’s No. 1 killer.
This video provides a balanced and accurate depiction of depression.
YouTube says: Nature or nurture
We found that about 50% of the YouTube videos we viewed presented depression as a biological condition, like a “brain disease” or “chemical imbalance.” Over 40% discussed how situational circumstances like losing a job, experiencing abuse, or other life events can cause depression. But these messages are only partially true.
In most cases, depression is the result of a combination of biological, environmental and psychological circumstances, though just 8% of videos showed messaging consistent with this understanding. This is called the biopsychosocial model and is the consensus across clinical psychology and psychiatry. Framing depression as either biological or situational can narrow one’s view of potential treatments, so it is important to convey accurate information about the illness.
For instance, studies show when people are told that their depression is caused by a chemical imbalance, they are more likely to favor antidepressant treatments over other treatments. In other words, these messages may lead people to accidentally ignore other evidenced-based treatments that could help them, including therapy, exercise and lifestyle changes and social support.
The reality is that many treatments work for depression. It might, however, take time for those with depression to find the right treatment combination that works for them.
Further, while many believe that talking about biological origins decreases depression stigma, a review of studies actually found it can have the opposite effect. The story goes like this: When people view depression as a brain disease, they are less likely to blame someone for having depression. However, they are also more likely to view the person with depression as “different,” “dangerous” and “untreatable.” Studies show these beliefs may lessen people’s willingness to support or feel empathy for those with depression.
Regarding his period of depression, Dwayne “the Rock” Johnson states, “I wish I had someone at that time who could just pull me aside and [say], ‘Hey, it’s going to be OK.’”
YouTube says: Depression lasts for years…sometimes a lifetime
This message is partial truth, but the science suggests a more complicated picture. For some, depression can last for years depending on their life circumstances and access to treatment. For others, depression may last for only a few months. A 2011 review of depression studies concluded “the majority of individuals who experience depression will recover within one year.”
Making this distinction is important because it reminds us that depression is not permanent; even though depression, by its nature, can make us feel as if everything is hopeless and won’t improve … or if things do get better, they will inevitably get worse again.
It is important for all of us, in these times of uncertainty, isolation, and worry about our loved ones, to remind ourselves and one another that, with time and direct efforts to improve our mental health, we can persevere.
This video misleads by saying that dark chocolate can treat depression.
YouTube says: There are quick fixes
Some of the most irresponsible videos I watched suggested that depression can be “fixed” with a few “simple lifestyle hacks.” Such videos are reminiscent of overpromising self-help gurus. Quick-fix assertions like “just exercise, you’ll feel better” are not only invalidating but untrue. It’s concerning that these videos disguise themselves with scientific-sounding words.
The video “10 Foods to Eat to Fight Depression” shows how the public can be misled. With over 1 million views, the video states, “Dark chocolate can help raise serotonin levels in the body” to fight depression. Unfortunately for people with depression who love chocolate, this scientific-sounding claim is not accurate. Our diet of course affects our mood. But it is oversimplified to say that eating chocolate cures depression.
These messages could lead people to downplay and invalidate the severity of depression. Imagine how a person with depression would feel upon hearing “I know you can’t get out of bed, but have you tried eating a Snickers?”
The next time you or someone you know is feeling depressed, take it seriously. Although the times are tough, and circumstances might feel hopeless, depression is treatable and can be overcome. Check out the National Alliance on Mental Illness for more information.
Doctoral student, clinical psychology, University of South Florida
This article originally appeared on The Conversation
How to Support Teens’ Mental Health During COVID and Beyond
Teens are struggling during the pandemic. Here's what they need from us right now.
This article originally appeared on Greater Good, the online magazine of the Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley.
It’s been more than a year since the COVID-19 pandemic changed life as we knew it. Many families across the country have been living in “survival mode.” Tweens and teens continue to experience a range of emotions, including sadness, anger, and fear. If left unresolved, these feelings can take a toll on health and well-being.
Parents of teens share similar struggles. According to Lauren, a mother of two teens in Woodland Hills, California, “My daughter has a hard time spending so much of her day on screens. She says having to do so makes her feel more anxiety than she already was feeling.” Nancy, a mother of two teen boys in Chevy Chase, Maryland, says, “Junior year is supposed to be a key year in high school before college. But my son has shut down.” And Rafaela, whose daughter attends high school in New York City, says, “My daughter is completely stressed about having to go back to school in person because she worries she’s going to get coronavirus.”
Sound familiar? In a survey of more than 4,600 people in Canada last spring, more than a third of families said they felt “very or extremely” anxious about family stress resulting from the pandemic.
When it comes to teens’ emotional and mental health, they are experiencing a crisis, says Dr. Edith Bracho-Sanchez, a primary care pediatrician and assistant professor of pediatrics at Columbia University Irving Medical Center. Even before the pandemic, more than 16% of youth in the United States dealt with a mental health disorder, according to a 2019 study in JAMA Pediatrics.
Bracho-Sanchez, who often treats families in Latino and Black communities that have been disproportionately affected by COVID-19, says the pandemic created the perfect storm of emotional turbulence. “Families are experiencing a lot of stress. Many have lost jobs. They’ve fallen behind on rent. The rates of food insecurity have skyrocketed. All of these things are really hard for everyone in the family—teens included.” Add to these issues virtual schooling, fear of family members getting sick or dying from COVID, feeling isolated and disconnected—it’s no wonder doctors are seeing higher levels of anxiety and depression in teens.
As parents, we can’t control the course of the pandemic. But we can help teens by modeling good coping skills, encouraging healthy habits, and working to understand and relate to what they are going through.
Understand what teens are going through
The first step toward supporting young people through this challenging time is for caring adults to have empathy for the teen experience. And to work to understand how their developmental stage impacts their emotional well-being.
Adolescence is a time when tweens and teens are supposed to be stretching their boundaries and testing limits. That means getting out of the house and trying new things. Figuring out their place among peers and within their communities. Making mistakes and learning how to bounce back. But during the COVID-19 pandemic, as a matter of safety, tweens and teens are limited from many growth opportunities. And that flies in the face of typical teen development.
For teens, peer relationships are a big deal. Their brains are designed to feel rewarded when they socialize, in some ways more so than adults. Spending time with friends helps them discover their identities and gives them the courage to move away from the family and into the larger world. Being restricted from exploring this aspect of themselves may leave them feeling lonely and bored, and it goes against the messages their brain’s reward centers are sending.
And let’s not forget the missed milestones. From birthdays to graduations to religious or cultural celebrations of growth, adolescence is also a time of important rites of passage. But these celebrations didn’t happen or looked dramatically different in the past year. Teens feel a true sense of loss for missing out on important affirmations that remind them they’re growing up.
On top of all that, the pandemic has diminished teens’ support systems or eliminated some altogether. Besides parents, teens often get support from other caring adults, including extended family and kin networks—grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins, and others. Caring connections may also stem from teachers, coaches, after-school staff, or religious leaders. In normal times, schools also play an important part in providing mental health services for adolescents; research finds that just over a third of teens who get mental health services get them only at school. With these support channels disrupted, parents have an even bigger role to play in supporting teens’ mental health
Strategies to support teen coping
Start with yourself. One of the most important strategies for parents looking to help their teens is too often ignored: self-care. Parents must take care of themselves. You know, the whole “put your oxygen mask on first” concept. When parents show teens the hard but productive work it takes to cope with stress, they’re teaching them how to face challenges.
Children haven’t fully developed the ability to regulate emotions, so they need to co-regulate with the important adults in their lives. They look to see how their parents and other trusted adults are coping to figure out how they should react. They “borrow” our calm and gain a sense of safety by watching us. But they can just as easily “borrow” our frenzy or catastrophic thinking.
Dr. Ken Ginsburg, director of the Center for Parent and Teen Communication, cautions it’s not as simple as just acting calm around your kids. “Looking like a duck calmly gliding on water is not actually the answer. While it may lend stability, it doesn’t teach strategy. As parents, we want to look like the duck moving through the water but also let our children see that our feet are paddling quickly underneath to help us stay afloat.”
Bracho-Sanchez says when she’s working with teens, she often first considers where the parents are in their own mental health and self-care journey. “I think we sometimes forget that until the parent has enough food, a safe place to live, a stable income . . . it’s really hard for them to help in a way that is sustainable. And until we have provided the parents with resources to care for their own mental health, it will be difficult to create the healing environment that we so badly want for all of our kids.”
Ways for parents to model good self-care for their teens include spending time with others (in a safe way), healthy eating, exercising, getting enough sleep, and making time to relax. Consider relaxation techniques such as meditation, yoga, reading a book, listening to calming music, or enjoying a hobby. Encourage your tweens and teens to de-stress and take part in self-care routines, as well. Let your teen know these are important tools to take back control of their bodies and minds.
Check in with teens. Amid all the changes and chaos stemming from the pandemic, how do parents learn how their teens are really doing? Ginsburg stresses the importance of listening and taking cues from what teens are saying. And if they’re not saying much, ask open-ended questions that show you care about their well-being. For parents struggling to find the words, try saying, “This is a tough time. I want to know how you’re experiencing this. What are you finding that’s helping you get through it? How can I support you?” Parents don’t have to offer immediate solutions—sometimes kids just need a sympathetic ear.
Re-establish routines. My daughter is in high school, but during the pandemic it has felt like she (and many of her friends) have adopted more of a college-age lifestyle. Staying up late, talking to friends at all hours, sleeping in, snacking throughout the day instead of eating at regular mealtimes. There’s been a loss of structure. Social media and blog posts confirmed my suspicion that parents across the country are witnessing similar things happen with teens in their homes.
It’s essential for our teen’s mental health to get back some structure. Routines offer a sense of order that is calming in the midst of uncertainty. Help your teen re-establish bed- and wake-up times. Encourage them to get dressed in the morning, eat regular meals, and spend time away from screens.
Set the tone. Parents and caring adults can adopt an attitude that is honest, future-oriented, and hopeful. This doesn’t mean denying problems exist. These may be challenging times, but it is also an opportunity to demonstrate how to manage uncertainty. A time to find creative ways to re-connect. And a chance to build resilience.
While it may be difficult to keep a positive mindset, focus on what you can control and remind your children things will get better in the future. Part of this viewpoint includes looking at the reality of the situation and teaching them to believe that their actions (or inaction) make a difference. For example, if watching television news about the pandemic all the time is adding to your teen’s stress, remind them that while they can’t control what appears on the news, they can determine how much they watch. Choosing to turn it off, watch less, or vary the source of programs can impact their ability to maintain a more positive outlook.
Don’t forget joy. As the number of vaccinations continues to rise, Bracho-Sanchez has been encouraging families to (safely) find joy in their lives once again. “Families have been in survival mode for a while now. And when you’re just surviving there’s so much that you don’t allow yourself to do and feel. Families have so much culture and tradition that they can bring to their young people.” She focuses on joy because it’s a powerful emotion for getting through hard times.
For example, my daughter and I have been enjoying putting our own spin on old family recipes. Quincineras, bar and bat mitzvahs—often large, extended family celebrations—are alternatively being enjoyed with immediate family at home as friends and other family members take part “virtually.” Some families are creating new rituals. A friend now works with his kids to come up with “reflection and gratitude” prompts that they write down on slips of folded paper. They open one at dinner to start conversations about things they have to be grateful for and happy about.
Seek help. Sometimes it’s beyond our ability to help teens improve their emotional and mental health. Seeking help from others is an act of great strength. If parents feel unstable or if their own mental health is challenged, there is power in seeking help for yourself and modeling that “I don’t deserve to feel this way. I want to take the steps needed to feel better,” says Ginsburg.
There are many places to reach out for professional help. Find a psychologist near you from the American Psychological Association or ask your personal doctor for local counseling service providers. There are also professionals trained to help children and teens get through tough times. The family pediatrician or a school counselor is a good starting point. You can also reach out to someone you trust in the community for local resources.
Moving toward a new normal
As the pandemic wanes, Ginsburg, who is also author of Building Resilience in Children and Teens: Giving Kids Roots and Wings, says there’s a real opportunity for families and communities to better support teens’ emotional well-being.
Many parents wonder what’s going to happen to this group of teenagers after living through these unprecedented times. What they want to hear is that kids are resilient and will bounce back to normal in no time.
But Ginsburg has a slightly different answer. He says adults first must intentionally work to ensure teens have the support systems in place to help manage the enormous amount of stress they are still under. He adds, “I hope things don’t go back to the way they were before the pandemic. Every generation is shaped by what it’s exposed to during adolescence, and this generation has been exposed to an understanding that human beings need each other. This could be the greatest generation ever if they are shaped by this essential truth.”
Award-winning journalist, writer, and blogger
Executive producer and director of digital content at the Center for Parent and Teen Communication at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
This article originally appeared on Greater Good, the online magazine of the Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley.
How the media may be making the COVID-19 mental health epidemic worse
This article originally appeared on The Conversation
Since the pandemic began, anxiety rates in the U.S. have tripled; the rate of depression has quadrupled. Now research is suggesting the media is part of the problem. Constantly watching and reading news about COVID-19 may be hazardous for your mental health.
We are professors who study the psychological effects on people caught up in crisis, violence and natural disasters. COVID-19 surely qualifies as a crisis, and our survey of more than 1,500 U.S. adults clearly showed that those experiencing the most media exposure about the pandemic had more stress and depression.
It’s understandable. The intimations of death and suffering, and the images of overwhelmed hospitals and intubated patients can be terrifying. COVID-19 has created an infodemic; members of the public are overwhelmed with more information than they can manage. And much of that information, especially online, includes disturbing rumors, conspiracy theories and unsubstantiated statements that confuse, mislead and frighten.
Stress worse for some than others
A June 2020 study of 5,412 U.S. adults says 40% of respondents reported struggling with mental health or substance use issues. This finding did not address whether respondents had COVID-19. Since then, some people who had COVID-19 are now reporting mental health issues that appeared within 90 days after their illness subsided.
Taking care of a relative or friend with the virus might result in mental health problems, and even just knowing someone with COVID-19 can be stressful. And if a family member or friend dies from it, anxiety and depression often follow the grief. This is even more likely if the individual dies alone – or if a memorial isn’t possible because of the pandemic.
Essential workers, from hospitals to grocery stores, have a higher risk for COVID-related mental health problems. This is particularly true for health care workers caring for patients who ultimately died from the virus.
Black and Hispanic adults also report more mental health issues, including substance abuse and thoughts of suicide. Having access to fewer resources and experiencing the systemic racism running through much of U.S. health care may be two of the factors. The COVID-19 pandemic also intersected with episodes of police violence toward Black Americans. This alone may have exacerbated mental health problems.
Children, young adults and college students also show comparatively worse mental health reactions. This could be due to the disconnect they feel, brought on by the isolation from peers, the loss of support from teachers and the disappearance of daily structure.
Setting limits essential
Staying informed is critical, of course. But monitor how much media you’re consuming, and assess how it affects you. If you are constantly worrying, feeling overwhelmed, or having difficulty sleeping, you may be taking in too much COVID media. If this is happening to you, take a break from the news and do other things to help calm your mind.
Parents should frequently check in with children to see how they are affected. Listening to and validating their concerns – and then providing honest responses to their questions – can be enormously helpful. If a child is having difficulty talking about it, the adult can start with open-ended questions (“How do you feel about what is happening?”). Reassure children that everything is being done to protect them and discuss ways to stay safe: Wear a mask, socially distance, wash hands.
Finally, you can model and encourage good coping skills for your children. Remind young people that good things are still happening in the world. Work together to list healthy ways to cope with COVID-19 stress. Then do them. These activities will help your children cope – and it will be good for you too.
Associate Professor of Communication and Public Health, University of Missouri-Columbia
University of Tennessee, College of Social Work, University of Tennessee
This article originally appeared on The Conversation
Gaming and the COVID-19 Pandemic
As an avid gamer, I’m very familiar with the all-too-common phrases from parents about my gaming habits. From Mom telling me to “put my Nintendo away and go outside” to Dad worrying that “I should be spending more time with friends.” Their concerns were similar to most parents with teenage children, worrying about the effects of video games on my social health and academics.
But with the novel coronavirus setting the entire world into a time of uncertainty, where social isolation is prevalent, we turn to media and entertainment. Video games provide comfort and support as we battle a social capital standstill. While parents of teens worry about video games negatively impacting their children, they can find comfort in research that shows how collaborative video games positively influence individuals. Online gaming could prove to be a great source of social support, as well as a means to create prosocial environments (social behavior that benefits society or other individuals other than the individual themselves) both on-screen and off-screen.
Games such as ‘World of Warcraft’ (WoW), ‘Among Us,’ and even ‘Call of Duty’ encourage group play through collaborative tasks, adventures and characters that naturally compliment different players’ abilities. These Massively Multiplayer Online-Role Playing Games (MMORPGs) allow thousands of individual players to come together to play in an immersive and detailed environment filled with adventures and quests. In games like these, prosocial behavior is encouraged and rewarded. Players have a sense of obligation towards other members of their ‘guild’ (groups of players that play games together) as they go through quests and raids, offering a social structure in which prosocial behavior is essential to success. These types of collaborative and social games can be particularly useful for users with physical disabilities that hinder their movement outside the home, or in the current socially isolated state of the world.
These MMORPGs are highly social environments that allow for strong friendships to form and many of them utilize chat features and messaging boards to connect players. The “Social Side of Gaming” expands on the benefits of collaborative gaming on video game players, stating that sharing online space within games enhances the formation of social capital and fosters friendships offline. Some researchers attribute this type of gameplay to the idea of being “alone together,” which in times of social isolation and social distancing can be a positive psychological and cognitively clinical advantage. In simpler terms, gaming can reduce the stress of isolation and help facilitate social interaction and friendships in teens.
Being alone together within games allows players the autonomy to choose their gameplay while also providing a rich social environment. Many players utilizing MMORPGs indicate that a very social environment is their primary factor for choosing to play these types of games. The academic research also suggests that the “gameplay within these virtual worlds is enhanced because players not only use them as the game originally was intended to be played but also as arenas in which to explore new relationships, new places, and themselves.” Online gaming also contributes to a higher social capital amongst groups in games with more interactive play, thus creating social ties that extend outside of the game itself. This shows us that online gaming creates bridges for social networks that then create outlets for social support and social capital.
Many of these online interactive games allow players to be “more of themselves” than they otherwise would be as their offscreen self, adding to the enjoyment of the games and creating a social benefit for those who may not be able to do so in real life. In these uncertain times, it seems to be reasonable to relax on video game restrictions and allow teens the ability to connect in whatever way they are able to. The social atmospheres and ability to collaborate with other individuals just might be the key to this new online world we are collectively experiencing. It might not be a good old-fashioned hangout with friends, side-by-side, but for avid gamers it feels just the same.
Parents reading this might still be a little skeptical, and content creators might wonder “so what next in gaming creation?” So, here are some tips for parents to help relax their minds and even bond with their gamers a little more, and some advice for content creators on what to include in your next game.
Actionable Insights
Here are Actionable Insights for Parents on Video Games and their Teens:
Not all games are created equally. Check the age rating on any games you might get your kid.
If you are able to, play the game. Understanding the dynamics of the gaming world will help you understand the social world your kids are in.
Take an interest in what your child is playing. Ask about the characters, the narratives and objectives, and if there is a multiplayer option, play the game with them. The more invested you are in their play, the more information you get about your child’s social needs.
Use content restrictions on games for younger children. Many MMORPGs have filters where you can designate the age range of other players that your child can interact with. (i.e. only players between the ages of 13-16 can interact on the game)
Here are Actionable Insights for Content Creators of Video Games:
Write diverse characters that rely on interaction and prosocial behavior to succeed in the game.
Create reward systems that increase the likelihood of helping behavior and punish antisocial behavior.
When writing NPC (Non-player Characters), take a special interest in developing side quests that encourage everyday helping behaviors (i.e. an older woman asking a character to retrieve her chickens or deliver her mail for her).
Create info guides for parents on your game to help facilitate communication between players and caregivers.
Michelle Leccese, MA Psychology