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Jennifer L.W. Fink's avatar

This is what's so often missed in schools. Humans OF ALL AGES need "effortful activity purposefully directed toward the achievement of some valued outcome in the world." Kids do better when they are encouraged & supported to make a difference in the world, in their families, in their communities.

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Steve Peha's avatar

“Empirical research has quietly but inexorably borne out my observations: those engaged in some form of productive work—be it via school, employment, training, or caregiving—consistently demonstrate better therapy outcomes than those who aren’t. This finding remains even after controlling for confounds like socioeconomic status, chronic physical illness, severity of mental health problems at the onset of therapy, and so on. Even individuals with serious mental illnesses like schizophrenia show remarkable gains in functioning and quality of life when they are supported in finding gainful employment—far more so than when they are supported in obtaining disability insurance to obviate the need to work.”

This! This is the premise I’m basing my work with teens who are struggling with mental health issues related to social media use.

My thought is that “Personal media bests social media!”

Which is to say that if we can turn paasive media consumers into discerning media priducers (or builders, if you prefer) we can “innoculate” kids against the harmful effects of extensive social media interaction—amd perhaps all interaction via phones.

This is what TeenedIn is all about!!

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