social media

As kids return to Batavia City Schools this week, there are a couple of things most likely happening: along with their notebooks and pencils, they are bringing their cell phones and using social media. 

The district’s Board of Education, however,  has decided that such practices are causing students harm and have agreed to join a consortium formed to sue those social media giants — TikTok, Snapchat, and Facebook, for example — for creating “a youth mental health crisis caused by social media addiction.”

A legal team — the same one that brought suit against e-cigarette company JUUL, representing 300 school districts including Batavia, and won — is now on the trail of those social media magnates. 

The Batavian asked city district Superintendent Jason Smith why the district opted to join the lawsuit — is it a matter of, they’ve got nothing to lose? What harm does he believe social media is causing? Does any responsibility fall to the home as a breeding ground for these actions?

“I honestly think it's a balance of family responsibility and the responsibility of other entities to market and use their products in a safe and responsible manner,” Smith said.  “As with any tool, there are positive and negative aspects.  We can look back in history and examine how reforms occurred in the auto industry, tobacco marketing, etc.  Social media is clearly a positive tool and can be used for good, but I think there is a collective responsibility to manage it properly and well between families and the companies themselves.”

So who is ultimately responsible? 
The National Social Media Litigation Team of Wagstaff & Cartmell, Beasley Allen Law Firm and Goza Honnold Trial Lawyers believes the evidence is irrefutable, and Smith deferred to them for part of his answer: 

“Everything about these products — from inadequate age verification measures, insufficient parental controls, endless scrolling, constant notifications, and targeted algorithms — have been designed to addict teen and adolescent users,” the team states in its supplemental materials. “These companies are fueled by their own greed and have put profits over the safety of our youth. As a result, children across the country are suffering mental and physical harms.

“The problem,” the team says, “is that social media companies like Meta (Facebook and Instagram), TikTok, Snapchat and YouTube/Google knowingly put young users in harm’s way to generate billions of dollars in profit. They adopted targeted algorithms to collect adolescent users’ data unethically, used addictive psychological tactics to increase adolescent and teen usage, and feature inefficient controls to help parents exercise their rights and duties to monitor and limit their children’s use.

“As a result, our children are becoming addicted to social media, resulting in mental and physical injuries like anxiety, depression, eating disorders, body dysmorphia, suicidal ideation, self-harm, and even death,” the team states.

What will this cost the district? How would you spend anything won?
There is no cost to the district for signing on to the lawsuit, Smith said; it will be handled “on a contingency fee basis.” 

So if they lose, it will cost nothing, and if they win, they will reap some of the proceeds. 

“If the district has the opportunity to receive a settlement, we will use it for proactive educational programming for our students, as we did with the Juul settlement,” he said.

According to its supplemental material, this consortium was formed to “work jointly on behalf of public entities in the investigation and prosecution of claims for damages arising out of negligence, public nuisance and other claims against social media companies like Meta (Facebook and Instagram), Tik Tok, Snapchat and YouTube/Google.” 

“We are committed to representing public entities, large and small, across the country. We will work to obtain just compensation for the mental health crisis and the costs imposed on public entities by irresponsible social media companies,” it states. 

In March, Batavia City School board members unanimously approved nearly $36,000 in settlement funds from a lawsuit in which the district claimed injury, malice, oppression and fraud against Juul Labs. The city school district was one of 143 districts involved in the lawsuit against the makers of the popular vaping products, alleging that the company “fraudulently and intentionally marketed” its products to children and that those products caused numerous health, financial and structural damages to the district and students.

According to lawsuit documents, the district had to hire additional personnel, including a second school resource officer, divert current personnel to retain students on campus when possible, purchase extra equipment and supplies, repair damages, and deal with behavioral issues.

The expected proceeds were going to be invested into the city district’s “preventative and restorative” program called Vape University, Superintendent Jason Smith had said. Operated at the high school, Vape U is a pilot program geared toward helping students with positive replacement behaviors for vaping.

Previously:  

• Batavia City Schools to receive $35K as part of mass action lawsuit against Juul
• BCSD board approves Juul settlement, lawsuit involves several claims of damages to district

Social media has been a great way for Le Roy Central Schools to reach out to the whole community about what is going on at district schools, Superintendent Merritt Holly says, but there does need to be clearer communication with parents about what information is going out on social media compared to what is being sent home in newsletters and email.

Different messages are better suited to different media, Holly said during Monday's Board of Education meeting, updating the board on recent social media survey results.

"We will do a better job of getting out -- where do parents go (to get information)?" Holly said. "Principals are still communicating through newsletters, weekly reports, things like that. Social media is not necessarily what most parents want it to be. It's not the forum they want to look for (that information), and what we want to do (on social media) is capture the moments and events that are going on."

Le Roy's robust social media effort owes a lot to former Le Roy High School Principal Tim McCardle, who is an avid and talented photographer and made good use of social media platforms.  When he left, the district wanted to continue a strong social media effort, and BOCES helped out by providing a part-time social media content producer, Alecia Kaus. Kaus, a Batavia resident, is a veteran videographer in the region.

When Kaus started contributing to the social media program a year ago, the district went from one major social media presence for the high school to a combined social media presence for both the high school and Wolcott Street School.

Some people like everything on one page, and some people don't.

That seemed to be the theme of the response to the survey -- people divided into two camps about what they like.

"We got both sides, which is right where we want to be," Holly said.

Holly said the survey results show respondents are split on whether social media stories are too long or just right.  They also want more coverage of some things -- say modified or JV sports -- that the district just doesn't have the resources to cover (every publisher's dilemma).  

After the meeting, Holly said he likes the ability of Kaus to either capture the moment or use her visual storytelling skills to give viewers a fuller picture of campus life.

"She brings the story part of that to that component to it where, again, we've had feedback that some people don't like the length of them and other people that do -- but I think that you can find something either in the moment with a capture and picture or you can find it a true in-depth story about what's going on in our schools."

Whereas newsletters and reports deliver important information to parents about policies and programs that directly impact students, social media gives the district opportunity to shine a light on what teachers and students are actually doing on a daily basis, and that's good not just for students and parents, but also alumni and the rest of the community, Holly said.

"For our greater community, what better way to find out what's going on in school than to see a tweet, to get on Facebook to see an event either if it's athletics, if it's music, if it's just in the classroom, showing a moment,” he said. “I think it's so important for us to show what's going on. If not, people are going to draw their own conclusions on what's going on. What better way is there to share our experiences and what we're doing? They're authentic, they're real. And to be able to show that through social media is a great way to go."

There are a handful of students at Pavilion Central School who’ve gained much attention for their heavy use of social media both during and after the school day.

Evelyn Northrup and Christopher Doody are two of them who spend several focused hours a week not only posting, but talking about it, planning for it, and mapping out schedules for how to get their posts done throughout their busy school days.

Think these students are among the many people mindlessly scrolling the Internet and potentially getting caught up in all of the negative chatter out there? Not at all, they say. Instead, they are part of Pavilion’s student PR team with a goal to market and promote the positive actions of student clubs, sports and groups around campus.

The team has eight students guided by Instructional Technology Support Leader and Online Learning Coordinator Nancy Stauber as advisor.

"This Team was created a couple of months ago when two students presented an idea to our administration about creating a social media page, PavilionGopherPride Instagram Page. Since then, they have grown to eight students and are already evolving their public relations campaign to include teacher interviews and, hopefully soon, podcasting," Stauber said. “These students are solely responsible for what is posted, reaching out to various people to gather information, and making sure what they post is safe, positive, inclusive, and informative and monitor all comments for appropriateness.

“These students are also learning many ‘life skills’ and participating in an activity that could potentially become a real life career involving social media," she said. "Additionally, they are also learning about and modeling good digital citizenship along with learning about privacy laws and permissions involving state and federal laws.”

Evelyn saw the PR team spill out of a school spirit committee that had gotten so big, that the PR team was created to help with promoting school happenings. That means attending games, conducting interviews and taking videos and photos of athletes, teachers and coaches, and selecting and decorating the gym each month with coordinated themes — such as a volleyball beach bum theme.

“We began in early October 2022 to get ready for Girls Volleyball sectionals,” 17-year-old Christopher said.

The main goal was to make people aware of the games and schedules, encourage participation in the theme nights, and “open them up to extracurriculars and to show off our school,” Evelyn, a senior, said.

“And we highlight other activities, like musical theater, Scholastic Bowl, FFA chapter, and Art Club,” she said.

Going for the 'Likes'
They have become not just word masters, but visual artists with those themes to draw an audience, and the desired likes, comments and shares that they have also learned to track. They were happy with the early results.

“Within a week to a week and a half, we had 100 to 200 followers,” Christopher said.

For the record, the account is currently at 317 followers.

While so many people — young and old alike — seem to zero in on the negative parts of social media, through cyberbullying, comparing, arguing, complaining and such, these kids are homing in on the opposite.

“We try to keep everything positive,” Evelyn said. “If someone is being negative toward a student specifically, they can be deleted, or we contact them and ask them to be respectful.”

Twice so far, they’ve had to do that — and not with a fellow student, but with a parent. In each case, a parent was complaining about either a referee and/or a student-athlete and had to be reminded of the policy. Evelyn reached out to one of them and wasn’t intimidated to do so.

“Just knowing how to talk to individuals, and that’s being professional and respectful and is not retaliatory,” she said. “It’s kind of ironic that the parents are the ones being negative. I think students know there are consequences.”

It must have worked; the parent did not return to the site with any more comments.

Practical side of social media
Aside from learning how to handle rule-breakers, there has been other lessons within the business side of social media, such as handling privacy laws, the need to acquire consent forms before publishing names and faces in certain circumstances, creating a schedule for posts, content planning, learning new technology, cropping photos and videos, time management, analytics and tracking statistics, they said.

They have also learned how to share content from another site that posts area sports to take advantage of what’s already out there and save time. They have also tried out free apps to save money and sent out emails to district members — staff, teachers, students, and coaches — reminding them to send material for the online page.

Personally, both Christopher and Evelyn use Instagram and Snap Chat more than Facebook and don’t even consider Twitter. In their professional endeavors in the PR team, it’s mostly Instagram with some posts on Facebook.

Drama is relative, enjoy the small moments
“You have communication apps, and Snapchat and Instagram, one is used to talk to your friends, and one is used to share your experiences,” she said. “I do agree that some parts are bad. There’s drama.”

She and Christopher agreed that there was some social media drama a while ago at the school, but it seemed driven by a couple of particular students. And when they left the school, so did the drama. Aside from that instance, life for these students is fairly low-key where social media is concerned, they said. 

Has the positive focus made a difference? These savvy kids think so. Teachers and staff, and parents have thanked them for their efforts and expressed their appreciation for the Gopher spotlights, though student response has been more lackluster.

“I don’t think students say it as much,” Evelyn said, adding that she thinks maybe when they’re older, it will be a bit of nostalgia to look back on more fondly. “It’s almost like a yearbook, a digital version. Don’t take for granted the small moments.”

Pavilion Central School students Christopher Doody and Evelyn Northrup show a social media stats page that they use for their student-run PR team used to promote district sports and other clubs and groups on campus. Photo by Howard Owens.

Editor's Note: This is part of a series about social media use and its effects on children. 

Thoughts and attempts of suicide, self-mutilation, depression, anxiety, poor self-esteem, a lack of motivation, shame, or being the giver or receiver of bullying.

It’s a tough world out there, and children are being subjected to these things more and more, especially when social media is involved,  Daniel DePasquale says.

An unhealthy trend
"I'm seeing a lot of things that seem to track with a lot of the trends that have shown up in the research. So teenagers became daily users of social media, between about 2009 and 2012. And there's been a lot of research done since then, tracking different metrics of teen mental health. And what it shows pretty unequivocally is a significant increase in depression, mood disorders, anxiety, self-harm, and especially hospital visits, and ER visits for suicidality and self-harm. So that's obviously very concerning," he said. 

"There’s a huge spike in 2012," DePasquale said during an interview with The Batavian Thursday. "Their lives are very online. That’s not all bad; it does foster some connections, especially for districts in smaller, rural areas. Where it goes wrong are the amounts of time spent, more than two hours a day. Most of the kids I see here are spending significantly more than that. This is stunting, certainly, really important aspects of adolescent development, especially emotional development, and social development. There's a lot of that that really needs to happen in person. And these online platforms really don't, they don't replicate what that real-life interaction is."

DePasquale is a licensed social worker at Genesee County Mental Health Services in Batavia. He and colleagues Christine Faust, a licensed mental health counselor, and Deputy Mental Health Director Peter Mittiga shared their observations and experiences on why social media use reached the extent necessary to drive families to seek counseling.

For one thing, online platforms don’t represent real life, DePasquale said. Yet, when other kids post tiny snippets of their lives, it appears as though that is their world, and it can create a false comparison.

“These are middle schools and high schools, these are where kids are kind of figuring out who they are, they're grappling with their identity for learning how to read other people's emotions, and learning how to resolve conflicts," he said. "And social media really does not provide a good healthy way to learn those things. Humans are wired to compare ourselves. Kids are posting very selective parts of their lives … very curated versions.”

Of course, that also happens amongst many adults, he said; however, kids are at an already “very fraught time in their lives” and don’t need the added pressure of having to live up to an unrealistic ideal on the Internet.

Kids are mostly gravitating towards Tik Tok and Snap Chat, while Facebook is less popular with the younger crowd, he said. Another “big issue” is cyberbullying. It has become bullying of a “very different quality than what happens in person,” DePasquale said. Once it becomes posted online for all to see, it makes it hard for kids to escape it, he said, even once they leave school and go home.

More than a fun distraction
Think social media is just an innocent extracurricular, maybe a time suck but an otherwise harmless distraction for kids? They’re being referred to therapy after being sent to the hospital for a “self-harming” incident. That could mean cutting themselves or something even more lethal. Or their issues may manifest as seemingly having no motivation to do anything and depression.

In his testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Technology in May 2022, Ethical Leadership Professor Jonathan Haidt reported that social media is a “substantial contributor to the crisis” of increased loneliness at schools in all regions of the world.

“Correlational studies consistently show a link between heavy social media use and mood disorders, but the size of the relationship is disputed,” Haidt said. “Nearly all studies find a correlation, and it is usually curvilinear. That is, moving from no social media use to one or two hours a day is often not associated with an increase in poor mental health, but as usage rises to three or four hours a day, the increases in mental illness often become quite sharp.”

DePasquale believes that two hours a day is the maximum goal for usage, and it’s what he recommends to families. Beyond the emotional and mental health aspects of social media are other measurable effects, he said, including the lessening of kids’ coping skills and quality of sleep.

Social media requires “a level of sustained attention, a lot of rapid switching from different things,” he said.

Learning mindfulness skills to become more aware of their own thoughts will require new learning, such as being able to put the phone down, he said. All of that social media scrolling encourages the opposite.

"So they don't really facilitate, you know, the kind of sustained attention that you would need to, say, sit down and read a chapter of a book. And a lot of the skills that we want to teach our kids involve becoming aware of your thoughts, becoming aware of the negative thought patterns that tend to reinforce your depression or your anxiety," he said. "They also involve learning how to become more present, kind of mindfulness skills that we try to teach people, kids and adults, that also requires kind of a singular focus, being able to put the phone down, and become aware of your thoughts and feelings so that you can learn new ways of responding to them.

"And I'm finding it harder to teach some of those skills to kids, just because they don't have as much experience with that kind of sustained focus," he said.

Again, that addictive quality is not present just within the younger generation. Just look around, and there are many adults scrolling with their eyes fixed on the phone screen throughout the day and night. There is no actual addiction diagnosis for social media use, Mittiga said, but it certainly does have addictive properties.

Faust added that a committee in charge of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Illnesses, more commonly known as the DSM-5, will be discussing potential additions, including gaming and social media addictions. The American Psychiatric Association writes, edits, reviews and publishes the book as necessary. It was first published in 1952 and has been revised seven times since.

What does it take to get into this manual? The general consensus, Faust said, is that something falls into the addiction category when it has a drastically negative impact on someone’s life.

Faust works with all ages and specializes in children ages three and older. Even at that tender age of pre-schoolers, devices become the norm, whether it’s by watching YouTube videos, playing games on a tablet or a phone, or using the program Roblox, which allows younger kids to play a variety of games, she said.

Elementary-aged children are into Tik Tok, because “it’s silly and fun,” and Faust knows of a fourth-grader who routinely posts videos of herself on the site. A fourth-grader. Unfortunately, she gets a lot of  “bullying and shaming,” as a result, Faust said.

“There are supposed to be age restrictions on these platforms,” she said. “A lot of parents are just turning a blind eye to this, or they don’t think it’s really a problem. I think a lot of kids have free rein, or even parents try to restrict them. Kids find a way around it.”

One boy was being shamed on the school bus for not owning a phone, so he took one from home to save face.

The 'dark side' of social media use
“But the other part of it is that what I see is that it's taking this group of kids who are sort of at risk, who could kind of go either way, like, they could be healthy, or they could be drawn into, you know, more risky behaviors," she said. "So it's taking those kids that are kind of on the line, and drawing them to the, quote, unquote, dark side.”

Sites like Snap Chat suck kids in like a magnet, and they get involved in group chats, teenage girls bully and shame others, and those victims are driven into serious depression, the ones “who would never think about suicide, start to contemplate suicide,” she said.

“When kids are stressed out, they’re turning to self-harm,” DePasquale said, as he and Faust filled in the lines for each other.

“And then, like Dan said, there's definitely an increase in visits to hospitals for kids who are suicidal. Or, self-harming, cutting, like it's become normalized ... when they're stressed out, and overwhelmed," Faust said.

"They're automatically thinking about suicide as a viable option,” he added.

Behaviors seem to focus more on cutting, and for girls, it can also go towards body image issues and disordered eating, Faust said, and not so much on alcohol or drug use in younger kids. DePasquale agreed that there has been a "significant shift" associated with social media use being connected to self-harm and suicidality versus substance abuse. 

To the extent, they said, that "it's almost become normalized," Faust said.

"I hear kids that I work with talk about watching videos of people cutting themselves. Yeah. And posting it. They're cutting themselves and posting it," she said. "Whether it's to get attention or a cry for help. But yeah, it's definitely creating this sort of culture that is desensitizing."

By now, The Batavian has spoken to several school counselors and administrators for their thoughts on this topic, and these licensed mental health professionals concur that there are problems attached to the heavy use of social media by children.   

Shining some light on the subject
Some of those districts are infusing students and staff with encouragement to form committees and teams to extract the positive out of this situation and teach about/use social media for good and/or monitor its use to be at a healthy level.

Case in point: Just this week Byron-Bergen Elementary School announced that the Genesee Valley School Board Association awarded the district with the Excellence in Student Services Award for the 3rd Grade Digital Citizenship Program. This program, which is led by third-grade teacher Colleen Hardenbrook, is a year-long initiative to develop online and computer skills in the areas of digital citizenship, digital literacy, and keyboarding. All 59 third-grade students from three classrooms participate in the Digital Citizenship Program.

Each class receives 40 to 80 minutes of Digital Citizenship per week. The curriculum is provided by Common Sense Media and focuses on safety, accountability, responsibility, and respectful use of digital media. This is broken down into themes, including media balance, privacy and security, digital footprint, relationships and communication, and media literacy.

The Batavian will be publishing stories on additional measures being taken by school districts in future articles of this series.

Imposing limits is not a bad thing
As for right now, DePasquale emphasized the time limitation to no more than two hours a day as a good rule of thumb. Faust also sees a real need for limits and boundaries, she said.

“Whatever form that comes in,” she said. “Social media is not going to go away. The trick is teaching parents about limiting what platforms they’re using. What kind of parental controls do they want to use on devices,” she said. “Parents weren’t prepared. We need to backtrack. Parents need to teach their kids at three what’s appropriate.”

DePasquale also suggests providing recommendations in layers, beginning with some fundamentals, such as using the settings in your child’s smartphone and defining a limit for only two hours of use, "right at the start."

“That also needs to be coupled with close monitoring,” he said. “And kids don’t get on social media until 16.”

Other suggestions? Parents, remove all screens from your child’s bedroom, take the phone away one hour before bedtime, and be prepared to have a list of replacement activities for that time you’ve now freed up for your child by limiting the phone.

“A lot of kids are struggling, they don’t have healthy limits. They are willing to backtrack, and are welcoming those boundaries,” Faust said. “And parents have to take more action. Some kids are learning what a good friend is, and self-esteem, confidence and getting involved in healthy activities.”

If you suspect your child is struggling with a mental health issue, check in with your school counselor or call Genesee County Mental Health Services at 585-344-1421.

For more information for parents and educators, read THIS from the Center for Humane Technology.  

Top Photo Illustration. Stock photo.

Social media companies should be held responsible for poisoning the minds and souls of youth and causing a litany of psychological ills.

That’s a pretty strong statement and is one being made by Seattle City School District,  the first in the United States to sue “Big Tech” for causing social media addiction to the point where schools can’t fulfill their educational mission, according to Bloomberg News (“Seattle Schools Sue Big Tech Over Youth Mental Health Crisis”).

There have been many other lawsuits filed by families about the negative impacts of social media on youngsters; however, Seattle is making headlines for being the first school district for taking on the likes of Facebook (Meta), Google, Tik Tok and Snap Chat, the Bloomberg article states.

The Batavian asked school administrators in Genesee County how they felt about this topic: is social media causing irreparable harm to young people’s mental health? Can the use of social media be regulated, and more importantly, should it be?

“While I think social media has advantages for helping students stay connected, it can be problematic for many of our students,” Kesler said.  “Posts on social media can often negatively affect our students' self-concept or mental health.  Some students have become too attached to social media and would benefit from more time with in-person interactions.”  

Also from the city school district, John Kennedy Intermediate School Counselor Michelle Nanni has seen a variety of issues that have stemmed from social media platforms, she said, all of which have age restrictions that are older than JK’s students in grades two to four.

“Even with parental consent or controls, students are often viewing inappropriate and sometimes even sexualized content that is not suitable for children. Even content that would be considered appropriate often curates unattainable lifestyles with an emphasis on perfectionism and materialistic values, which can cause unrealistic ideals resulting in anxiety and depression,” she said. “These platforms also contribute to bullying, as young children are much more likely to send hurtful comments from behind a screen, especially as they will not truly realize the impact left on others without seeing their reactions.”

And reactions, according to the Bloomberg article, have been tragic, citing more than a dozen lawsuits filed by families blaming tech companies for youth suicides. In Nanni’s experience, one of the biggest problems and effects that she encounters is sleep deprivation among students.

“Because they are up all night on social media and don't have the self-control to know when to stop scrolling,” she said. “Social media is certainly having negative effects on the mental health and well-being of the students in our district.”

Lindsey Cummins, the social worker at Pavilion’s Middle-High School, agrees with Nanni. In fact, not only is social media having negative effects, but Cummins believes that it is “exacerbating symptoms of anxiety, depression and other mental health issues and concerns.”

“Through my work here at the school and also as a per diem therapist, I can say that social media causes so many difficulties. One of the biggest issues is definitely cyberbullying. Kids are being torn down through a phone, and sometimes do not even know who it is that is speaking to them this way. There are anonymous platforms where cyberbullying is taking place,” Cummins said. “Another issue is the students whose parents have restrictions on phones, and therefore, because they are not on TikTok or Instagram (or whatever the cool app is), they are being shamed and called ‘losers’ and feel disconnected from their peers. I think, in general, social media exposes them to all of the bad things that are going on in the world, which is, in fact, pretty depressing, and causes a lot of anxiety among adults and children.

“Also, the things that are shared on social media can cause a lot of concerns for parents, which then transfer to the kids at home,” she said. “All of this coupled with the lack of mental health support and services, is a really scary reality for our youth.”

“Our children and teens are not wired for the constant barrage of information that comes from being engaged on social media; certainly, there is the aspect of over-stimulation and the lack of creativity that is fostered by the scroll-and-swipe nature activity,” Rosales said. “With this comes the emotional piece of children comparing themselves to others and always being engaged on an emotional level with content that isn't healthy.  We have even seen a societal shift in which people will say things or make personal attacks on someone if they do not agree. It is disheartening.”

That being said, she’s not certain that “we can legislate or litigate good behavior.” There needs to be more understanding of why mental health issues are on the rise, and it seems likely there’s a probable connection between social media and those issues, she said.

“We need to get to the root of why certain individuals use social media as a weapon, instead of using it for good,” Rosales said. “Having a productive and honest dialogue about these issues will be what affects positive change. At Elba Central, our students take a course in digital citizenship; these issues are addressed in that class. We encourage students to use social media as their ‘calling card’ by highlighting their achievements and using it as a platform to encourage and motivate others.”

Elba’s district has an Instructional Technology Committee comprised of educators and parents to work on addressing these very issues, she said.

“We are at a critical point in our children's education in which we need to arm them with the skills to be productive and positive members of a digital society,” she said.  “This endeavor will only be possible with the support of families who know what their children are engaging in, as well as social media platforms that insist on positive and healthy participation.”

“The analogy I often make is that social media is like a car or a cell phone, or any other new invention: we need to treat it with respect, take advantage of all that it has to offer, yet understand that if we mistreat the technology, there can be serious consequences,” Smith said. “As educators, we need to teach students how to deal with the impact of social media in a proactive way, no different than how we teach 16-year-olds the safe way to drive a car.  There is no doubt that social media is causing an added level of stress to our students, as they seek approval, likes, acceptance, etc., via social media outlets, but coupled with strong family support and guidance at school from our counselors and social workers, we need to be able to help our students find balance.”

Having served as an administrator at other school districts beyond Batavia, he confirmed that this has been an issue here and in other districts as well.

“The mental health needs of our students are real, and a broad spectrum of supports from counselors, social workers, and school psychologists are critical in this important work,” he said.  “I would argue that if used correctly and with balance, social media can be and is a powerful tool in our students' lives."

“My role as a parent is my starting point because it is my job as a parent to ensure my children are properly using the resources I provide for them.  As a parent, if I am concerned that social media is negatively affecting my children, then it is my job to curtail that.  It's also my job as a parent to make sure I teach my children how to communicate on social media in respectful ways and not to use social media to tear others down,” he said. “If I find out that my children are using social media to hurt others, then it's my job to reteach, correct and discipline them.”

He’s not certain that any social media platform is responsible for negatively influencing today’s children, though he did watch an interesting Netflix documentary, “The Social Dilemma,” that gave him food for thought about the potential of tech companies using psychology to promote addiction of social media.

“If it can be proven that tech companies purposely used psychological strategies to cause students to harm themselves or to purposely cause anxiety or depression, then those companies should certainly be held accountable,” Calderón said. “However, if the argument is that social media causes anxiety and depression because it provides students a platform to be mean and hateful to each other, then it's not the platform that is guilty, it is the students who are being mean and hateful who are guilty.

"Certainly, many of the ideas that people promote on social media can be harmful to our children, similar to harmful ideas that may be promoted on TV, in movies, in friendship groups and anywhere else where ideas or opinions are expressed.  I think one of the essential keys is to promote respectful communication at all times and to teach our children how to properly handle situations when others are disrespectful,” he said. “Harming ourselves or harming others is not the best approach when other people hurt us, including when others hurt us using social media.  If everyone used social media to encourage and build each other up, then we wouldn't be having this conversation, and the social media we use would be even more addictive.”

To answer The Batavian’s question of whether social media is causing anxiety, depression and other psychological troubles, per the Bloomberg article’s assertion, to the extent that something to be done to stop or lessen it, the obvious answer is yes, Pavilion Assistant Secondary Principal Charles Martelle said.

He believes that something should be done, though he is unsure what that would be and doesn’t think it’s his place to say whether a lawsuit would be necessary to remedy it or not.

“There is some value in social media, and to paint it with one broad brush is unfair.  It can inform, link like-minded people, offer opportunities and open a world of creative possibilities.  My critique is based on my experiences working with children in middle and high school as an assistant principal,” he said. “I do see a lot of unhealthy behavior related to social media.

"The most frequent and striking problem is that it amplifies, exaggerates, takes out of context and records text and images which kids post in their worst moments.  Kids have always said and done things without thinking, only to realize later the consequences of their actions.  That is the normal way kids learn; however, now their mistakes last longer and get noticed by more people.  Additionally, their worst moments get broadcast to people who should never have seen or known about these things.  Social media has an exponential side effect of spreading bad information, and it doesn’t turn off or go away.  Kids are subjected to these shameful moments, drama and comments all day and all night.”

Another point that makes social media so damaging, he said, is that kids are ‘on’ 24 hours a day — in school, out of school, during holidays and during their most intimate family moments, Martelle said.

“They are manipulated by advertising, meaningless posts, endless videos with messaging that is mildly entertaining at best and fundamentally horrific at their worst. 

"A few years ago, some very young students came to me to show me a post showing a man committing suicide.  The video that I saw still haunts me, and I’m 46!  These poor kids didn’t even seem phased by it,” he said.

He also pointed out that, while adults are free to make adult decisions of how and when to use social media, kids are just that -- younger minds in need of more guidance. 

“We all bear some responsibility, and certainly, we should all be thinking about how to go forward so we can address these problems.  Parents buy these phones for their children, handing them over often with little or no oversight.  School officials permit students to use them, and go a step further by using social media platforms to promote school events.  We all need to reexamine how we contribute to this problem instead of only blaming the social media companies.”  

Superintendents from Alexander, Batavia, Byron-Bergen, Elba, Le Roy, Pavilion, Oakfield-Alabama and Pembroke were contacted for this story. 

More than 40 health care organizations along with 40 physicians from throughout Western New York have issued a statement calling on area residents to ignore social media misinformation about COVID-19 treatment and prevention and asking them to follow the recommendations of doctors and scientists. 

Among the organizations: Erie County Medical Center, Veterans Affairs, Kaleida Health, Horizon Health, Lake Plains Community Care, and Independent Health.  

Among the physicians signing the letter is Dr. Michael Merrill, former chief medical officer at UMMC and currently an executive with Independent Health. 

To view the document with the statement and a list of all the supporters of the statement, click here (pdf).

Statement:

These organizations and the individuals signing below say the following message is correct and reliable. Social media posts may be incorrect. Find reliable, science- based information sources, such as the CDC.

We are experiencing a high number of COVID-19 cases in the region. You should wear a mask in indoor public places, even if you are fully vaccinated. Please wear a mask in outdoor settings if it is crowded or you expect close contact with others.

Wearing a mask will protect you. It will protect people around you. And the more people who do it, the more we protect the community. This is similar to littering. If one person litters, no one notices the impact. If many people litter, it creates a problem for everyone.

The risks of the vaccine are far lower than the risks of COVID-19. Please get a vaccine. Even if you are healthy, it is best not to get the COVID-19 infection, because you can spread it to vulnerable people without knowing.

92% of recent COVID-19 deaths in Erie County are in people who are not fully vaccinated.
There is evidence that the COVID-19 vaccines are SAFE during pregnancy. Infection with the COVID-19 virus during pregnancy can cause poor outcomes for moms and newborns. One study showed if a mother gives birth while infected with COVID-19, they have a 5 times elevated risk of dying.

There is NO evidence that the COVID-19 vaccines affect fertility. However, the COVID-19 infection CAN affect future fertility. You are not protected by your racial, ethnic or age group. COVID-19 is not like influenza. It is 10 times more fatal.

Why get a COVID-19 vaccine if we still have to wear masks and practice social distancing? We must use every tool available to control the pandemic. Each tool contributes toward “flattening the curve” and reducing, for example, the number of critically ill patients.

Why should I get the vaccine when people who are vaccinated can still get COVID-19? The COVID-19 vaccines were designed to prevent serious infection, hospitalization, and death. All of the current US vaccines provide very strong protection against all of these outcomes, with protection against hospitalization and death greater than 90%. Most vaccinated people who do get COVID have either no symptoms or very mild symptoms and are much less likely to be hospitalized or die.

How do we know the vaccines are safe in the long term? In the history of vaccine research, most vaccine side effects appear within a few weeks and almost all appear within six months. We now have data for well beyond six months for people who have received the COVID-19 vaccines, and it continues to show they are extremely safe. More than 360 million doses have been given in the US. At no point were shortcuts taken or safety compromised.

Press release:

Genesee County today announced the launch of its official Facebook page (facebook.com/geneseecony) and Twitter account (twitter.com/geneseecountyny). The digital social media tools will be used to regularly communicate with the citizens of the County.

As COVID-19 continues to impact the community, the County plans to utilize the pages to communicate important health and safety measures along with general news about the county. Content will be in the form of graphics, videos, news articles and more.

“Given how COVID-19 has impacted our community, we felt the time was right to launch these channels to easily connect with our residents with and get information from their local government in a timely manner,” said Genesee County Chair Shelley Stein.

“Not only do we want to communicate with our community about the pandemic, we also want to showcase the many things that make Genesee County a unique and special place to live, work and play.”

“Creating social media channels is another way for us to communicate to residents and taxpayers, our businesses and visitors to our community,” said Matt Landers, Genesee County manager and Budget officer. “It’s also important that we are streamlining information with other county departments, especially the health department that has its own social media channels. This will enhance the efficacy of our communications.”

Press release:

From friends to followers, tweets to YouTube, Snapchats to YikYaks -- future students at Genesee Community College will one day have the opportunity to study all the nuances of social media marketing. The College's Board of Trustees has approved a new Social Media concentration within the Associate in Applied Science (A.A.S.) Business Administration degree.

With the Board's approval, the program will now be submitted to the State University of New York for approval, and later to the New York State Education Department. The College expects the program to available in the Fall of 2016.

The new concentration will provide GCC students interested in business careers with a third option -- one which focuses on the cutting-edge business, marketing and communication methodologies that predominant in today's global marketplace.

The new 62-credit concentration builds from the existing Business Administration curriculum, which provides a strong foundation in business and marketing principles, professional sales, computer applications and a selection of nine elective credits.

New Communication Technologies (COM120) and Introduction to Creative Problem Solving (CPS101) are among the courses Social Media students will take along with: Principles of Marketing (BUS213), Advertising (BUS203), Entrepreneurship (BUS225), Intro to Computers or Microcomputer Applications (CIS102 or 116), Web Publishing (CIS113) and Web Design and Implementation (CIS204).

"We've seen a number of students opt into courses that provide them the most modernized business program giving them a strategic advantage for a cutting-edge business career," said Kathleen Schiefen, Ph.D., GCC's provost and executive vice president for Academic Affairs.

"Built around the same basic business administration coursework, these students will focus on the marketing uses of social media-such as search engines, and become technically competent using the strategic advantage of cutting-edge business degree."

GCC's Business and Commerce division currently includes the following programs: Accounting; Business Administration; Business Administration: Supply Chain Management concentration; Economic Crime Investigation; Entrepreneurship; four Fashion Business programs in: E-Commerce, Event Planning, Fashion Design, and Fashion Merchandising Management; Sales and Customer Service; and Tourism and Hospitality Management. All of the programs are open to new students of all ages, and can begin this fall semester, which starts Aug. 24.

In other business, the Board of Trustees heard a positive report from Kevin Hamilton, vice president for Finance and Operations, on the status of summer construction work for the capital project. Currently, the project involving the complete renovation of the cafeteria at the Batavia Campus and some updates at the College Bookstore is on schedule with completion targeted before the start of the fall semester.

School officials in Le Roy have put up these posters in the hallways of the high school.

On Thursday, Principal Tim McArdle sent a message to parents about Yik Yak and said administrators were talking with students about use of the social media network, which is designed for anonymous posts that can only be read by people in the immediate area.

While the apps developers say it was designed for college students, there have been issues nationwide with high school students getting on the app and using it for bullying.

Previously:

• BHS officials monitoring controversial app catching on with students
• Le Roy HS principal alerts parents to Yik Yak use by students

Yik Yak, the controversial social media app that allows users to share messages in complete anonymity to be read by people near their locations, has prompted Le Roy HS administrators to seek parental help in controlling its spread.

Principal Tim McArdle sent a message to all parents today informing them that Yik Yak use has been reported by students and there have been complaints about it already.

"Based on reports by students, individuals in our school community over the last few days have been using this app to bully others and post very degrading comments about students and staff," McArdle wrote in the message. "We have been in contact with other local districts that are experiencing the same situation this week."

The Batavian reported earlier this week that administrators at Batavia HS were aware of the app and monitoring its impact on campus life.

Yik Yak has garnered a good deal of national news coverage because of complaints of bullying and threats by users.

McArdle said administrators addressed students about Yik Yak during lunches today.

"We let them know the negative impacts that social bullying and harassing have on their fellow students," McArdle wrote. "We also encouraged students who may be negatively impacted to come forward and seek help. Students were invited to sign a pledge to delete the app from their phone. In just the first day alone we had a great turnout of students pledging to do this."

The app has been blocked from the school network, but that won't prevent students with mobile devices and their own online access from using the app.

"We now need your help as parents!," the principal wrote. "Please talk about this with your child and discourage their use of this app."

About 20 local business owners and managers attended a talk by Kevin Manne at T.F. Brown's this morning on social media, sponsored by the Genesee County Chamber of Commerce.

Manne, new media specialist for Genesee Community College spoke about how digital media is empowering customers, how that power can be harnessed to benefit a business and how to effectively promote a business on social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare and YouTube.

Previously: College hires new media specialist, sees rapid online growth