You and P are raising E in such a wonderful, caring, nurturing way. I know she's going to do great. But her job for the next 8 (15?) years is to give you the occasional jolt of some kind. Be ready, Papa!
How did we get here? And it's what's available to teens and younger kids in general that's so scary. It's not social media, but my 7-year-old grandson knows about Squid Games from friends. These boys have older siblings . . . but there's one kid I think has seen at least parts of the series and I think his parents have let that happen. My daughter and SIL can stop my grandson from acting out the games, but what happens when he's doing this in places where there are no parental controls? Same thing for parents who are truly trying to reign in their teens and social media. There's only so much a parent can control. I'm terrified.
I think about this every day. My 20yo twins are sorta a generation removed from your 7yo grandson in terms of tech and the availability of problematic content. We all need to be vigilant.
I'm so glad my children grew up when I only had to worry about television, videos and Gameboy! This is a crisis not only for the hundreds of millions of youth around the world sucked into social media but also the future of our society. What kind of adults will kids mentally warped by growing up on TikTok and the rest be? An important post. Thanks Sree.
In light of your podcast today about mental health for teens, I thought you would be interested to learn about our latest initiative with MakeBeliefsComix.com to set up a HELP 4 STUDENTS section to encourage troubled teens to create comic strips about their lives and worries. Perhaps it is something you will want to share with your community.
Encourages Troubled Students to Create Comic Strips Dealing with Mental Issues
Dear reader,
MakeBeliefsComix.com has launched a new HELP 4 STUDENTS section to help troubled, anxious and LGBTQ+ youngsters through the practice of comic-making. It begins on the home page of our free comic generator.
School guidance, mental health specialists and support people -- as well as educators and parents -- can find it useful to encourage youngsters with mental health issues to express what is deep within them through creating comic strip stories about what’s troubling them. Comic strips can be a useful way to communicate one’s fears and concerns, as well as joys. The section shows you how to accomplish this.
I hope you find something in HELP 4 STUDENTS for your constituencies and spread the word. It can't, of course, solve all the problems of young people and their caregivers, but it's a start. One step at a time. If you have some thoughts about whom else we should alert about the new section, please kindly share with them or send us your suggestions. Thank you.
I have been thinking a lot about this. My daughter is 10. Sigh.
You and P are raising E in such a wonderful, caring, nurturing way. I know she's going to do great. But her job for the next 8 (15?) years is to give you the occasional jolt of some kind. Be ready, Papa!
How did we get here? And it's what's available to teens and younger kids in general that's so scary. It's not social media, but my 7-year-old grandson knows about Squid Games from friends. These boys have older siblings . . . but there's one kid I think has seen at least parts of the series and I think his parents have let that happen. My daughter and SIL can stop my grandson from acting out the games, but what happens when he's doing this in places where there are no parental controls? Same thing for parents who are truly trying to reign in their teens and social media. There's only so much a parent can control. I'm terrified.
I think about this every day. My 20yo twins are sorta a generation removed from your 7yo grandson in terms of tech and the availability of problematic content. We all need to be vigilant.
I'm so glad my children grew up when I only had to worry about television, videos and Gameboy! This is a crisis not only for the hundreds of millions of youth around the world sucked into social media but also the future of our society. What kind of adults will kids mentally warped by growing up on TikTok and the rest be? An important post. Thanks Sree.
Good point, Mira. I was told by a friend that this is "an American problem." And I had to, alas, set him straight. Sigh.
Definitely worldwide. It's a big problem in France. We both know about India.
Dear Scree Sreenivasan,
In light of your podcast today about mental health for teens, I thought you would be interested to learn about our latest initiative with MakeBeliefsComix.com to set up a HELP 4 STUDENTS section to encourage troubled teens to create comic strips about their lives and worries. Perhaps it is something you will want to share with your community.
Thank you.
Bill Zimmerman
Here is our announcement:
MakeBeliefsComix.com Launches HELP 4 STUDENTS Section,
Encourages Troubled Students to Create Comic Strips Dealing with Mental Issues
Dear reader,
MakeBeliefsComix.com has launched a new HELP 4 STUDENTS section to help troubled, anxious and LGBTQ+ youngsters through the practice of comic-making. It begins on the home page of our free comic generator.
School guidance, mental health specialists and support people -- as well as educators and parents -- can find it useful to encourage youngsters with mental health issues to express what is deep within them through creating comic strip stories about what’s troubling them. Comic strips can be a useful way to communicate one’s fears and concerns, as well as joys. The section shows you how to accomplish this.
I hope you find something in HELP 4 STUDENTS for your constituencies and spread the word. It can't, of course, solve all the problems of young people and their caregivers, but it's a start. One step at a time. If you have some thoughts about whom else we should alert about the new section, please kindly share with them or send us your suggestions. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Bill Zimmerman
Creator, MakeBeliefsComix.com
billz@makebeliefscomix.com