Summer Institute in Adolescent Health focuses on use of technology

The 2024 Summer Institute in Adolescent Health, Cultivating Adolescent Well-Being in the Digital Age, explored how professionals, from across health, public health, education and policy sectors, along with parents, caring adults, and young people can work together to understand and promote young people’s healthy use of technology.

The institute, held July 22-24, examined digital literacy, dissected the exploitative nature of influencer culture, and shared skills to empower youth, including those with marginalized identities.

Panelists Attorney General Keith Ellison, Rep. Sandra Feist and Rep. Kristin Bahner spoke about the importance of online safety legislation and legislative advocacy, with Haley Hinkle, policy counsel for Fairplay, facilitating the discussion.

“The truth is most legislators are not experts in privacy and technology. You all know what you know and we need you telling the folks we’ve elected what they need to be doing,” said Ellison. “We need your partnership.”

Professor Renee Sieving, PhD, RN, FAAN, FSAHM, co-presented It’s Complicated! Patterns & Trends in Young People’s Mental Health and Social Media Use with adolescent panelists, discussing nuanced data that illustrates both the benefits of social media as well as the harms.

“Social media and technology are a double-edged sword for young people. We need to be thinking about how we support them in managing the challenges that social media presents without diminishing the positive benefits,” said Sieving.

Ellen Selkie, MD, MDH, assistant professor and adolescent medicine specialist at the University of Wisconsin, presented The Evolution of Social Media Risk in Adolescents and Cultivating Adolescent Wellbeing in a Digital World, which included discussion of a new framework to guide adolescent use of technology.

“There are many risks for young people in digital world, but these technologies also have great potential for wellbeing and are constantly evolving,” said Selkie.

Additional presentations included The Impact of Social Media on the Teen Brain by Monica Luciana, PhD, and Sylia Wilson, PhD, MS, TikTok Study by Ash Milton, MS, Impacts of Social Media on Youth of Color by Henry Willis, PhD, MA, and Toolkits for Best Practices by Maree Hampton, MA.

Sponsors include the Center for Adolescent Nursing at the School of Nursing, Healthy Youth Development - Prevention Research Center in the Division of General Pediatrics & Adolescent Health in the Department of Pediatrics at the Medical School, Center for Leadership Education in Maternal & Child Public Health in the School of Public Health, the Child & Adolescent Health Unit at the Minnesota Department of Health, Health Equity Strategy & Innovation Division at the Minnesota Department of Health, the Minneapolis Health Department, and the Saint Paul - Ramsey County Public Health Department.