Q&A
Addressing youth mental health in relation to social media use
1:38:30
·
4 min
Council Member Rita Joseph inquires about how social media policy addresses youth mental health and the mental health support provided to young people involved in subway surfing. Officials discuss their approach and challenges:
- Schools are encouraging students to take breaks from cell phone use to support mental health
- Mental health support and counseling are provided to students found to be involved in subway surfing
- Schools offer support not only to those directly involved but also to friends and communities affected by subway surfing incidents
- Officials highlight the difficulty in competing with the addictive nature of social media
- The challenge of balancing technology use with mental health concerns is discussed
- Schools provide external supports if needed for students and the community affected by subway surfing incidents
Rita Joseph
1:38:30
So how does social media policy address youth mental health in generals in New York City public schools?
1:38:36
Because we've been hearing the number one root cause is social media, and how are we addressing that with young people?
Mark Rampersant
1:38:41
Yeah.
1:38:41
So, you know, this is this is a real hard one for us.
1:38:44
Right?
1:38:44
And so we are trying to help young people understand that it is important to take a break from the cell phone.
1:38:49
Right?
1:38:50
If think about what young people just think about what we deal with on a regular basis with our cell phones, many of us for the purposes of our job, but for some of us for the sheer entertainment of being straight up nosy.
1:39:01
Right?
1:39:01
We wanna know what's going on.
1:39:02
We wanna know what is happening, where it's happening, and who it's happening to.
1:39:05
And our young people have this amazing, amazing, connection to social media to the point to where many of them can't even put the phones down.
1:39:13
Let me give you an example.
1:39:14
Many Many of our New York City public schools have taken a position to collect cell phones from students.
1:39:18
Right?
1:39:19
Collect cell from some students from at the door.
1:39:22
And one of the ways by which we can guarantee you a 100% parent participation in open school night is give the cell phones back on open school night.
1:39:31
Right?
1:39:32
And you will get parents to come up and have a conversation about that.
1:39:34
But right now, our conversation with parents is we for the purposes of ensuring young people's mental health, we wanna take phones from them.
1:39:41
No.
1:39:41
You're not.
1:39:43
No.
1:39:43
You're not.
1:39:43
You're not gonna take my child's phone because I need my child in the event of an emergency.
1:39:47
I need to connect with my child in the event of an in the event of an emergency.
1:39:51
But young people are doing some of the most heinous things that you can imagine, including what we're here to talk about today.
1:39:57
But the mere fact that one person can make one video post and a 1,000 people show up to one location, that is the power that this machine that we're trying to fight against has over the minds of our young people.
1:40:11
Right?
1:40:11
And so when you ask about the mental health effects of of the phone, what some of the things that we're doing is we're trying to get the kids to put the phones down.
1:40:19
We're trying to enforce enforce, responsible usage in schools and ensure that they're not using them in the classroom and on stairwells and others.
1:40:28
Right?
1:40:28
When you get when you have young people willing to get willing to be suspended as opposed to giving up their phones, we are really in a challenging place right now.
1:40:36
Right?
1:40:36
And young people don't believe, and I'm not speaking for all young people when I say this, they don't believe that you know what's best for them as it relates to my cell phone that you didn't pay for, my cell phone that you didn't pay for, and and the challenges that teachers have to endure on a daily basis, combating the issue of cell phones in classrooms is it's unbelievable.
1:40:59
It's hard, but we are fighting the fight every day.
1:41:02
We're thinking about different different ways and innovative ways by which we can get young people to put the phones down, but they shared some things with us.
1:41:10
While you're focused on our cell phones, other technology exists.
1:41:13
For instance, the meta glasses.
1:41:16
I don't need my cell phone in my hand to have a conversation or visit sites.
1:41:21
Right?
1:41:21
My watch.
1:41:23
I can have a whole conversation on my watch or text through my watch and other technology that we are not advanced enough yet in schools to really combat.
1:41:32
And every single day, this is getting more and more and more advanced, and we have to figure out different ways to meet our young people where they are and utilize technology to do exactly that.
Rita Joseph
1:41:44
So we have to catch up New York City Public Schools?
Mark Rampersant
1:41:46
Yes, ma'am.
Rita Joseph
1:41:47
Technology's leaving y'all behind.
1:41:49
And, so in other words, is there any mental health support?
1:41:54
Is there any counseling provided to young people?
1:41:58
Especially after they found, subway surfing?
1:42:00
Is there any mental health support, that's provided for these young people?
Mark Rampersant
1:42:05
Yes.
1:42:05
As I shared with you today, thank thank God that, we didn't have a tragedy Right.
1:42:11
But we're meeting those young people at the door.
1:42:13
And all of what is being provided for them is exactly what you're describing.
1:42:17
And in the unfortunate cases where we do have a young person that goes down and all of the friends and the communities that are affected by this, we've also we also provide supports in that respect.
1:42:27
And not only the the supports in the school, but if there are external supports needed for the student and the community, we're doing that as well.
1:42:34
So that's the long way to say yes, ma'am.
