My third book, Social Media Wellness: Helping Tweens and Teens Thrive in an Unbalanced Digital World, is slated to be released in August 2017 (Pre-order Here!). SO EXCITED. I am really proud of how this book turned out – and because of the awesome feedback of my teen and young adult readers, I feel as though the book provides some needed insight on how to navigate the multitude of online and IRL pressures students, parents, and educators now face every single day.
In preparation for the book’s release, I asked some awesome high school students to come into my office and talk a little about their social media world. With the help of a terrific San Francisco-based filmmaker, Jeff Springer, we captured their authentic, uncomfortable and sometimes downright funny stories of Silicon Valley teens on social media. Mid-way through our interviews, Jeff turned to me and told me how wonderful all the kids had been – they were far more open, honest, and revealing than he imagined they would be. Nearly every girl told us about private Instagram accounts (only for their “hundred closest friends”) and one high school sophomore girl admitted to having 50 on-going Snapchat streaks (which took her hours each day to maintain).
I wasn’t surprised to learn they generally watch lots of Netflix and YouTube, are stuck on Snapchat, and have multiple Instagram accounts. I was surprised to learn that most of the students did not even have a Facebook account (nearly all had Instagram accounts, and Instagram is owned by Facebook). The few that did have Facebook accounts rarely, if ever, logged in (“Facebook seems really hard to set up” or “it is not intuitive to use” or “It’s overrun by people my parents’ age). I thought Facebook Live would have encouraged some of them to be online, but nope – most claimed to not know how FB Live worked.
Some of my favorite highlights:
- High school junior boy who told me he was really into this TV show he was watching on Netflix: “It’s a show called Friends.”
- High school junior girl who, mid-interview, had a moment of self-awareness and reflection, and came to the realization – on camera – that she used her phone too much. I think it was when she was describing how she sleeps with her phone and checks it within seconds of waking up.
- Students holding back laughter when I asked them if their parents know how to use Snapchat. The consensus was “No.”
In the end, I hope this book sparks a lot of conversation about what wellness means and looks like in an “always on” world – and to that end, I am pleased to report the young woman who slept with the phone in her bed decided to move it another room so she could get better sleep. #progress #baby steps
