Social Workers have been at the forefront of social justice for many years. We now need to take the lead on addressing how social media companies are impacting our families. Adolescent suicide and suicide attempts have increased over the past twenty years. The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Atlantic and the Netflix documentary Social Dilemma ask compelling questions about the impact of social media on mental health. Combining these publications with recent research, this webinar will explore how social media influencers and algorithms encourage constant attention - negatively impacting the child/adolescent and family. This constant attention by social media impacts the communication patterns between family members, friends (both virtual & non-virtual), and mental health professionals. This leads to multiple relationship triangles, where all parties are trying to uphold their own preferred sociocultural trends, leading to conflict and closed relationship systems - negatively impacting a families mental health. We will discuss why it is useful to utilize a systemic approach (Structural Family Therapy) to address these important issues. [Elective for Child/Adolescent Mental Health Certificate Program]
At the conclusion of this webinar, participants will be able to:
- Identify the various social media platforms
- Discuss the impact social media on adolescents and families