Fighting ‘Big Tech’ to Stem Youth Mental Health Crisis – Suffolk University
Aware of the pressing need to help students foster connections and increase resilience, Suffolk has expanded and deepened its campus-wide culture of caring, said President Marisa Kelly, citing the negative impact of COVID restrictions on students well-being, compounded by relentless exposure to technology and social media in middle and high school.
We understand how important this conversation is, she said. We believe that we need to be meeting this generation where they are, as opposed to saying This is where you should be, please catch up. As a university, we are looking at how we can engage our entire community in the area of mental health.
Other panelists described lengthy wait times and scarce resources for children when they reach a crisis point. Dr. Kevin M. Simon, Bostons chief behavioral health officer, said the city recently launched a pilot program to train 200 new social workers and other specialists who will work for three years in the citys behavioral health centers and schools. Myisha R. Rodrigues, PhD, LMHC, executive director of the National Alliance on Mental Illness of Massachusetts, said progress was specifically needed in communities of color and among families struggling with housing insecurity.
Walensky, who recently announced she will step down from her post in June, said new federal initiatives to reduce emergency department visits, support traumatized youth in schools, and add badly needed mental health services were starting to help, but more resources were needed at the state and local levels for progress to continue.
We must create settings in which our children feel safe and supported and link our youth in crisis to treatment. And while we do these things, we must also work to reduce the long-standing inequities and root drivers of our youth mental health crisis, she said.
Taking aim at the digital media root of the issues, Markey, along with Senator Bill Cassidy (R-La.), recently reintroduced the Children and Teens Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA 2.0), legislation that, if passed, will update childrens privacy laws, prohibit the collection of data on users ages 13-16, create a digital marketing bill of rights that limits the collection of personal information of teens, and establish a youth marketing and privacy division at the Federal Trade Commission.
The proposal has so far gained bipartisan support in the Senate, as well as endorsement by a wide coalition of mental health and youth advocates. We have a moral responsibility to get this job done, Markey said.
See more here:
Fighting 'Big Tech' to Stem Youth Mental Health Crisis - Suffolk University