Technolandy

Day 155 (of 2024/25) can we talk about mental wellness without using screens?

I know school jurisdictions everywhere are implementing “bans” on personal screens in the hope that it would make things better – yet I do not see a sharp/any decrease in mental wellness concerns – bullying is still a regular topic… counselling resources are still more needed than available… and most resources are web/app based…

kidshelpphone.ca is important – with an AI tool to help with immediate support -and then access to a real person via phone 1-800-668-6868 or text 686868  but of course… personal screen/phone needed to access these supports … 

Mindshift… brain injurycanada and many more provide great resources… online…

Many of us may not like it, but virtual counselling has been proving to be just as a/effective as in-person counselling… AI chat assistants are doing interesting jobs helping people cope through tough situations – checkout Pi.AI screens can be very helpful.

So today I am going in, with curiosity, to see what resources and supports are going to be highlighted at our annual grade 7 mental health fair. I am optimistic as previous years have been very well organized and knowing who’s involved, the kids will get a lot out of it… which is why we snuck some grade 8s who missed it last year…😇 But I also noted that a reminder was sent out for students to leave their phones at home/school… I get it as they don’t want them to be distractions, but I don’t think that needed to be the worry – my experience has been the people doing the workshops et al are very engaging, and the topics are relevant and meaningful (key strategies if worried about tech distracting learning…😎)

Great to see the display area featuring Foundry, Youth & Family, Integrated Child & Youth teams, Vancouver Coastal Healrh Tobacco & Vapour reduction, qathet Community Justice, Child Youth Mental Health (no sign 😇) and qathet Safe (with rcmp presence) but advertising websites and emails… strange since they can’t be accessed that way by youth…

Well organized day – students were engaged and had great reflective shares at the end of the day

But I have a side note: even though I know there are concerns about the tool – especially on the social media side… we haven’t thrown out many other tools that have been misused when they are good for learning (and tech screens are. Good. For. Learning. ) Pencils and Pens and Paper have done great harm over the years, but the good outweighs the bad… for those who haven’t been targeted by some hateful words… and likewise with the tech. Online bullying? Much easier to track and document than direct threats in the locker area or at a store. Social Media FOMO? Sure – there are strategies and ways to help deal with the pressures that social medias bring… Dopamine chasing with games? Yep – maybe we need to spend some time figuring out why a game is doing a better job making a person feel better than their in-person experiences…  But the tool has access to so many good things that can be helpful… if only there were places where youth gathered and could be shown positive use and have an opportunity to practice… as opposed to ‘us’ banning them and hoping things work out fine outside the formal school hours… love how events like this get my own brain working (and yes, I did practice my own slow breathing while passing a group doing the same!) very important annual event on our school district calendar❤️