While bombarded with notifications, distraction and comparison, teens work to define digital well-being

NINA MOINI: There's no arguing that phones have completely eclipsed parts of young people's lives-- all our lives, really-- their social circles, though, academic work, connection to their culture, government, economy. And even their connection to themselves, in some cases, is seen through the screen of a smartphone. And this guinea pig generation that has only known life with the internet is getting curious about how the internet affects their well-being.

Yesterday, in Minneapolis, a group of health researchers, educators, and youth leaders gathered to talk about how screen time affects students' lives. And they brainstormed on how to have better digital health. It was Minnesota's first ever Digital Well-Being Summit. And the organizers, LiveMore ScreenLess, already have another one planned for December. It's an ongoing conversation.

So the executive director of that organization, Katherine Myers, joins us now, along with a student who attended yesterday's summit, Two Rivers High School junior Evangeline Fuentes. Both of you, thank you for being here.

KATHERINE MYERS: Thank you, Nina. And congratulations on day two.

NINA MOINI: Aw, thank you so much. I really appreciate both of your perspectives. It's so important. This show, Minnesota Now, has had a lot of conversations about screen time and how that could affect focus of students in school and, really, their mental well-being.

In addition to that, as you obviously know, the state has set a mandate that all school districts have a cell phone policy of some sort, starting in March of 2025, coming up in a few months here. But Katherine, I understand your organization wanted to take things further. So tell me about why having this summit about digital well-being ahead of that school mandate made sense for you.

KATHERINE MYERS: Well, thank you for that question. We're so proud of Minnesota legislators. Going back in 2021, Minnesota was the first state to pass a digital well-being law. So we really are innovators in the country. And this past session, particular shout-out to Representative Feist and Robbins, who had the foresight to say, hey, let's all get on the same page and make sure that we have this cell phone policy mandate.

So all of those have been good first steps. And convening leaders at this moment was really to say, OK, we've taken a step forward. But this is a very complex issue, and it really demands a complex solution and a whole community approach.

So we were really thrilled to have a room full of Minnesota leaders-- as you mentioned, included researchers, educators, young people themselves, health professionals, youth professionals, tech leaders, and government leaders-- all to say, what is it that we all can do collectively beyond a policy that can be more aspirational? So we really look to see what future do we want for our young people--

NINA MOINI: Sure.

KATHERINE MYERS: --and what is our role to help make that--

NINA MOINI: Yeah, and bringing--

KATHERINE MYERS: --a reality?

NINA MOINI: --all these voices to the table. Evangeline, I hope we're not catching you on your phone at school. [LAUGHS] Just kidding. Thank you for being here. It's great to have your perspective. How did it feel to be included as an actual student [LAUGHS] in this overall conversation?

EVANGELINE FUENTES: Yeah, thank you so much for having me. It was really insightful for me personally. I've never been at a leadership summit where I've felt so heard, especially as a student. I'm only 17 years old. And I think, oftentimes, student voice wants to be heard, but sometimes it isn't perceived as knowledgeable as--

NINA MOINI: Yeah.

EVANGELINE FUENTES: --the adult counterparts, which I fully understand. But yesterday was really enlightening for me, as well as a couple of my fellow students who are part of our school's Digital Well-Being Club. We collectively felt really heard. And the conversations that I got to have at my table and as well as sharing with the group, I really brought a lot away from them, and I was happy to make those connections.

NINA MOINI: So a lot of schools, because of the state mandate that comes in the middle of the year, in March, set standards at the beginning of the year. Katherine, can schools rework those via some of the research and voices that you all are gathering?

KATHERINE MYERS: Hmm. Well, certainly. And the schools are really good at adapting and shifting. But kind of historically, the majority of schools already have cell phone policies. So I think the initiatives for many schools have begun prior to this mandate.

I know a lot of schools really dug into it this summer, especially the leadership of the Minnesota Association of Secondary School Principals and Elementary School Principals were really leading the way in what can this look like, as well as Minnesota Department of Health has been partnering to ensure that we're doing this in a real equitable way. We're thinking about issues around it.

And by partnering with LiveMore, we're also saying, well, we might be taking something away with the cell phone policy, but how can we bring young people to the table and have a vision of something more about that encourages their well-being and learning around device use?

NINA MOINI: Absolutely. And Evangeline, you're literally going to be at the table, right, next month, at the next summit in December? You are going to be leading a little breakout group. What did you learn, or did anything surprise you about what people around your age are sharing?

EVANGELINE FUENTES: What really surprised me was the fact that everyone is so keen to accept the fact that there is an issue and to not be defensive, because I think, oftentimes, there's a bit of a defensive stigmatism with adults versus youth and how they battle that area of agreeing that there is an issue, but not wanting to cause guilt or not wanting to accept.

And so I was really happy to see that a lot of my fellow counterparts and students in the club, as well as just overall students and friends that I am acquainted with, accepting the fact that we've gone back a couple steps as humanity, and that these steps that we're taking, such as the leadership summit that I was at yesterday, as well as our convention that we are having next month, are helping us move forward. So I think that was really refreshing to know that although some students might be going in different directions, that collectively, I think the overall consensus is that we want to get better. And we accept that there are issues that we can accomplish.

NINA MOINI: Sure. And to Evangeline's point about the different emotions around it and maybe some of the awkwardness or the tension, Katherine, I know that you mentioned the researchers that came to the summit. What research on this topic of digital well-being, this term, is catching your attention?

KATHERINE MYERS: Hmm. Well, what's really catching our attention is the call from broader national research organizations to say, we really need youth voice-infused research.

NINA MOINI: Hmm.

KATHERINE MYERS: And Evangeline is sort of sitting in a great place with LiveMore ScreenLess team, and the Digital Well-Being Club, and then our upcoming Youth Summit, where we are asking young people, what's your research question, and getting them to see themselves as researchers because they're curious-- they have things they want to know-- and then doing what we can to move that into broader research. And the other thing that we know, too, Nina, is we really have to address that we are living in a paradox with technology. While we might want to just turn it all off--

NINA MOINI: Hmm.

KATHERINE MYERS: --lock it all down, stuff the genie back in the bottle, it's really not the way that we're going to move forward, so ensuring that we are bringing in research about the benefits of technology and not having a one-size-fits-all approach.

NINA MOINI: Yeah, Evangeline, what do you think about some schools have said, we're going to take the phone, and we're going to put it away for the entire day. We're going to lock it in a pouch. Some places, you can grab it between classes. What do you think or what are you hearing seems to be a reasonable balance from folks who are the students at the center of this?

EVANGELINE FUENTES: Yeah, so I'll speak to my high school's cell phone policy, which is that during class time, from bell to bell, your phone is not allowed to be out. If it is out, it counts as a violation, which sends you down to the office, where you fill out a slip. And there's certain repercussions with how many times you are filed for a violation.

And I think most students have took to it pretty well. They understand that they're in class. We are allowed to have that flexibility and utilize our phones in between class periods, as well as at lunch, as well as before and after school. So I think we have provided a good balance with saying, we are mature students of the ages 13 through 18, sometimes older.

And you have a level of responsibility that you should be allowed to have autonomy and make your own choices of, am I going to go on in between class? I know that I can't go on it during class. Where is the respect, and how do I have respect for my teachers, but my teachers also respecting me?

So I think our school does a very good job with not alienating students as just a group that they must follow what is told to them, but instead, giving them the opportunity to understand why. And I think that it takes a lot better as opposed to a policy that might eradicate cell phone use completely during the day, especially including-- just yesterday, we had this discussion at my table about with national issues. If a student needs their phone for something, but it is locked away, how does that help a student feel less safe or more safe?

So I think it's also very new. So I completely understand how schools are taking different approaches. And I think it's very interesting to see the student feedback on that because just because our school's policy works is not to say that another school's isn't working better or worse.

NINA MOINI: Sure. And Katherine, I'll kick the last question over to you here. Students are obviously individuals. We all are. We all have different degrees of reliance on our phones and smartphones. In the research, or anecdotally, what you've heard, what can educators and schools do to maybe identify the students who are having more serious problems with being away from their phone, maybe veering into an unhealthy relationship there?

KATHERINE MYERS: Hmm, well, that's such a kind question about young people and their vulnerabilities. And as an educator myself, I think that's what we do, is we see the whole child, and then we have to work within the system with each individual child. And schools are so good at doing that. There's so many staff that pay attention to attendance, to how a young person is feeling in their grades, and really monitoring that.

And I think in getting to the heart of this question is that we believe that it really all begins by listening and having a conversation. So LiveMore ScreenLess trains adults to be in conversation with young people. And we have found that, really, to be a magical moment for young people--

NINA MOINI: Sure.

KATHERINE MYERS: --to really feel seen and heard.

NINA MOINI: Yeah.

KATHERINE MYERS: So as schools and adults, we're all able and capable-- is to start by asking young people, how do they feel around their screen use? And what is it that we can do, and how can we partner with them? And we find that they can so quickly name the benefits of technology and just as quickly the drawbacks. And then we can lean into that--

NINA MOINI: Yeah.

KATHERINE MYERS: --and find out how to support them.

NINA MOINI: Thank you both so much. I wish you all the best at your summit next month. And thanks for continuing the conversation and bringing everybody to the table.

EVANGELINE FUENTES: Thank you for having us.

KATHERINE MYERS: Thank you, Nina.

NINA MOINI: Take care. That was Katherine Myers, executive director of the nonprofit LiveMore ScreenLess, alongside Evangeline Fuentes, a junior at Two Rivers High School in Mendota Heights. LiveMore ScreenLess will hold a virtual Youth Summit again on December 7. You can learn more at livemorescreenless.org.