Stop the Scroll: Fentanyl Prevention Communications for Gen Z
In a digital world where teens scroll past thousands of messages a day, how do you break through the noise and motivate real behavior change around fentanyl risk?
In this session, explore how Virginia’s groundbreaking social-first Deadly Dose campaign is designed to stop the scroll with culturally relevant messaging that addresses misinformation, social media influence, and the normalization of illicit pills and powders among teens. Using evaluation findings and a pilot online youth survey, we examine what content actually captures attention, builds awareness, and increases readiness to avoid fentanyl.
You’ll gain practical insights for designing fentanyl prevention strategies that resonate with today’s teens and drive measurable impact.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of this session, participants will be able to:
- Identify key factors influencing adolescents’ exposure to fentanyl-related messaging and misinformation on social media platforms.
- Analyze evaluation findings from a substance-use prevention campaign to determine which digital messaging strategies effectively capture teen attention and increase awareness of fentanyl risk.
- Explain how social media–based prevention strategies can increase adolescents’ readiness to avoid illicit pills and powders containing fentanyl.