Empowering Teens to Lead the Digital Wellness Movement
Screen time is dominating the conversation around youth mental health, but too often, the solutions leave out the voices of the people most affected: teens themselves.
In this session, you’ll explore a strengths-based, youth-centered approach to digital wellness that goes beyond restricting devices and instead empowers young people to take ownership of their relationship with technology.
Drawing on #HalfTheStory’s model of youth-led advocacy, Daniella will share how programs like the Digital Civics Academy and the NY Teen Tech Council, in partnership with Gov. Kathy Hochul’s office, are shifting the narrative from “phone-free fear” to “phone-free fun,” putting teens at the center of school policy reform and state-level digital wellness initiatives.
Attendees will leave with a practical framework for engaging young people as co-designers — not just recipients — of digital wellness programming, along with replicable strategies for building youth advisory structures in their own schools, organizations, and communities.
Learning Outcomes
- Distinguish between fear-based screen time restrictions and strengths-based digital wellness approaches and explain how youth ownership supports more sustainable behavior change.
- Identify strategies to secure youth buy-in and sustain engagement, including framing participation as skill-building, communicating value, and leveraging existing networks.
- Apply strategies for engaging youth as co-designers in digital wellness initiatives within schools, organizations, or communities.
- Describe how youth-led advocacy efforts can influence institutional and policy change, using real-world case examples.
If you're interested in earning Continuing Education Contact Hours or a general certificate of completion, please check our FAQ for more information.