Welcome to your guide to all-things social media!

A word from YBBBS Executive Director Erin Mabery

Today, as we embark on rapidly and everchanging technology, our youth and their families are experiencing widening gaps in communication, polarized diversities, ease of access to self-soothing and unhealthy habits, instant and misleading media, and a constant race to get a handle on it all.

While there are wonderful things technology has brought to the human race, we struggle with keeping it balanced and well-intentioned. Our youth are faced with an exponentially higher amount of external stresses than any generation preceding them. It is our duty to assist them through these challenges, even though the constant changes can quickly become overwhelming.

We are excited to partner with Legacy Health Endowment to bring forward a social media guide that is cohesive and digestible for you in your role, to assist the youth in your life to make decisions in navigating both the possibilities and consequences of today’s social media. We are grateful in so many ways to know you are here with us, that you are engaged in assisting your youth, and truly supporting each of our youth reach their fullest potential.

Erin Mabery YBBBS Executive Director emabery@azbigs.org | azbigs.org

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Message From

Jeffrey Lewis, President & CEO, Legacy Health Endowment

We created “What You Should Know About Social Media — The Potential Risks for Children and Teens” to help parents, grandparents, and guardians better understand the warnings of the most popular social media apps. This guide includes advice on what steps you can take to protect your children’s mental health.

There may be a correlation between the increased use of social media and poor behavioral health.

Children and teens who use social media are at a higher risk of depression, anxiety, low self-esteem, and even suicide. For some, social media has become the catalyst for their social anxiety disorder.

The problem is that social media apps can lure children in and become addictive. Behavioral health challenges may worsen with more time spent on social media. The behavioral health challenge facing children and teens is a growing public health crisis. We created our guide as a basic information tool to help you better understand the world of social media, how it can affect your child, and what this may mean to their mental health.

If you have questions or comments, please email me at jeffrey@legacyhealthendowment.org.

Jeffrey Lewis, President and CEO Legacy Health Endowment

jeffrey@legacyhealthendowment.org https://www.legacyhealthendowment.org/