SIOUX FALLS — Kids aren’t all right, and that’s partly because social media has replaced social interaction.
This consensus was made clear Friday at a public dialogue on the mental health challenges facing America’s youth, hosted by the Avera Behavioral Health Hospital’s Bipartisan Policy Center in partnership with the Helmsley Charitable Trust.
Bipartisan Policy Center is a Washington, D.C.-based think tank founded by former South Dakota Democratic Sen. Tom Daschle and others. A video message from Daschle was played at the beginning of the conversation.
Sioux Falls Mayor Paul TenHaken (R), one of the participants in the conversation, emphasized that the influence of social media and the weakening of community ties are contributing to mental health issues among young people. He said these problems have been exacerbated by people staying at home during the coronavirus pandemic.
“When you isolate people, I don’t care if it’s children, adults, elderly people in nursing homes, isolation is not good for mental health,” he says. “We are designed to build community with each other.”
40% or more of American teenagers say they suffer from persistent feelings of sadness and hopelessness.youth suicide attempt and drug overdose Increased has.
State survey data shows that In South Dakota, the number of high school students seriously injured in suicide attempts increased by 100% from 2009 to 2019. The state had the second-highest suicide rate in the nation for teens ages 15 to 19 from 2018 to 2020. In 2019, 23% of South Dakota high school students seriously considered suicide, 19% planned to commit suicide, and 12% attempted suicide. Among Native American students, 31% reported attempting suicide.
Report shows that mental health problems among high school students are becoming more serious.
The center created Youth Mental Health and Substance Use Task Force In January. This conversation was part of the center’s tour of rural America to learn more. Policy makers and medical experts came together to discuss the need for treatment, analyze complex causes, and debate policy solutions.
TenHaken said mentorship programs can make a difference.
“It may sound trite, clichéd and simplistic, but many young people live in very dark and lonely places, and as a result they are forced to live their lives behind screens,” he said. .
Val Demings, a Democratic former Florida congressman and co-chair of the Youth Mental Health Task Force, said she doesn’t blame policymakers for encouraging children to stay home during the pandemic in the interest of public health. Told.
“We’ve lost a million people in this country,” Demings said.
But future policymakers need to be aware of the long-term mental health side effects of separating children from their friends and mentors, she added.
“Now we know better,” she said.
Demings told South Dakota Searchlight that policies restricting youth social media use and prohibiting social media use for children under a certain age are necessary, but Congress has not yet implemented them. He said it was difficult.
“Some of our members are from specific neighborhoods where social media platforms are headquartered,” Demings said.
Her optimistic lawmakers point to recent bipartisan efforts to force China-based ByteDance to sell TikTok or face a national ban, and push for greater regulation. We are making preparations for this.
Demings said the task force is considering recommendations to federal authorities responsible for regulating social media.
Health officials on other committees say treatments require more funding and staffing, but Demings told South Dakota Searchlight that fiscally conservative policymakers He said investment in young people’s mental health should be seen as ensuring a productive and healthy future workforce.
South Dakota Department of Human Services Secretary Matt Althoff took a different view. He said “dishonesty” may be a major cause of America’s mental health crisis.
“This is an important thing that doesn’t get enough attention: the evil that is going on right now, the influence of secularism that is pulling people away from what they have historically relied on in God,” Althoff said.
Althoff told South Dakota Searchlight that he was not referring to any particular religion, but rather what believing in a higher power can do for individuals and society.
If you or someone you know is having suicidal thoughts, help is always available by dialing 988. This service is free and confidential.
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