Kids are vaping in classrooms. Dealers are direct-messaging teens on Instagram and Snapchat. Cannabis is legal in many states, with psychedelics soon to follow. The constant, 24-hour deluge of content pushing the normalcy of drugs, alcohol, and vaping on social media, TV, movies, ads, influencers, etc., is preying on our youth. The substance use culture has never been more appealing and accessible to teens than it is today.
Screenagers Under the Influence: Addressing Vaping, Drugs, and Alcohol in the Digital Age, the second feature documentary film that Council Rock Coalition for Healthy Youth (CRCHY) is hosting as part of its “Raising Great Kids” series of free community information discussions, delves into how the tech revolution has reshaped adolescence and its effects on substance use. The film debunks myths and depicts strategies parents and schools can use to encourage healthy decision-making, support teen mental health, set limits, and create healthy home environments. The film also includes many ways young people are using their wisdom and strength to help each other and themselves through this complicated terrain around substance use.
While many documentaries about substance use focus on existing and/or extreme addiction, Screenagers Under the Influence fills a pressing need for an exploration into more common, upstream scenarios. The film is grounded in teens’ current reality of being flooded by images on social media, movies, and TV shows about vaping, drugs, and alcohol. Like the other Screenagers films, Screenagers Under the Influence interweaves cutting-edge science with personal stories to create an informative and entertaining film experience for young people and adults alike. Screenagers Under the Influence focuses on practical solutions for keeping our teens safe in a changing world.
Sponsored by: CHRCY, The Council Rock Education Foundation, Jefferson Health, and PA Start. CRCHY invites all members of the public and press to this free event and urges preregistration to secure enough room for all to attend. LINK: https://bit.ly/RGK-SUTI
CRCHY president Francine E. Block will be introducing and speaking before the film and the open Q&A session after the film will be led by Dave Fialko, Certified Prevention Specialist, The Council of Southeast Pennsylvania. (Click on the link above for free pre-registration.)
