I am your host, AShira Nelson, and this is PBS Western Reserve Forum 360, where we have a global outlook from a local view.

Today I'm interviewing Mikki Smith to discuss the topics that affect all of us, the impact of social media on our mental health.

Social media connects us, entertain us and even inform us.

But it also comes with challenges from cyberbullying and social media comparison to screen addiction and anxiety.

Social media can deeply influence our emotional well-being, but how can we find balance?

How do we protect our mental health while still engaging in a digital world?

Mikki Smith will help us unpack these questions, providing expert insight into the effects of social media on users of all ages and offer strategies for creating healthier online habits.

Stay tuned as we dive into an important conversation.

- Hello!

- Hi.

- Thanks for being here with me today.

- Thanks for having me.

- I'm happy that we finally got to connect.

I cannot wait to hear about all the amazing things that you're doing and just dive into this important conversation, because I have a love for social media.

But I also get exhausted by social media, to be honest.

But I know it's important.

It's a part of my brand so I just need to find a good balance.

- Yes.

- Okay.

So tell us a little bit about yourself and your background.

- Well, my name is Miss Mikki Smith, and I am an educator.

I have a nonprofit called “TBOY”.

“Taking Back Our Youth” where I deal with reentry recidivism with youth and older adults.

I've been doing that for 20 years.

I have my own consulting company called MLSJ consulting LLC, and that's where I work with my peers.

I do a lot of community activism.

- Okay.

- I'm in the community.

I'm doing a lot of things.

I'm case manager right now.

So I go into the schools and I work with my kids.

- Very, very nice.

Okay.

So did you go to university?

How did you get into this industry, this field?

- Well, I got my masters at University of Phoenix in Beechwood when they was here.

- Okay.

and I also got my bachelor's in management.

- Okay.

So, I actually retired, from insurance company.

I did 22 years.

- Okay.

- As a business systems analyst and computers don't talk back.

I'm a talker.

I love people, and so I decided that, you know, I want to go out there and I want to work with my people.

I want to love them the way I was loved coming up.

- Very nice, very nice.

So how has social media changed the way we interact and communicate?

- We no longer have interpersonal relationships.

We've lost our way.

We don't reach out to each other and just say if we do, it’s a quick text.

“Whatcha doing?

How are you?” Right?

Even text messaging is so interpersonal.

- Yeah.

- You know, you know how to yell through text now.

You know how to do the exclamation marks, right?

So, you know, sometimes you would say, “don't give me that attitude” to a text message is like, how is a text message showing attitude?

So social media is the same way, you know, it’s status.

You know what's on your mind every day, right?

We have people telling you exactly what's on their mind, what they're doing minute by minute, verbatim.

When they last ate, what they ate, how they ate it, right?

- Yes.

- Even what it looks like.

- Yes.

- So it has just altered from us just going outside, Playing kick the can.

- Right?

- Right.

- Follow the leader.

You know it just losses.

We've lost our way in interpersonal relationships.

- Very true, very true.

What are some of the biggest mental health challenges associated with social media users?

Well I say some of the challenges is, not understanding that I can put a screen behind me and I can create this life that is so fictitious.

It's not real.

And I can give you the perception of what I want you to feel, it don't mean it’s real.

But I can give you this perception that everything is okay.

Everything is fine.

Life is so amazing.

- So true.

- In our reality, it's really not.

- Right.

People don't realize that you are only showing a little small piece of you.

- Only a snippet.

- A snippet.

There is so much more to this story.

But yeah.

So how does obsessive screentime affect mental well-being?

Well, have you been out?

Everybody's you know, we going out to eat dinner.

But yet nobody's talking.

Everybody is on their phone.

Nobody is having conversations anymore when families are together.

Everybody’s sitting on a couch.

They're on their phones.

They're not even indulging with what they see right in front of them.

So excessive screen time.

It really causes problems.

Even headaches.

You constantly watching the screen, your head down.

If you notice, some people are having issues with their shoulders.

They're hunching.

I mean, it's a health issue.

And we have to be mindful of it.

- Definitely.

Definitely.

How does social media influence the mental health of like, our younger adults?

- Again, they are very impressionable.

- Okay.

- Which means you can tell them the sky is green.

But you know the sky is blue.

But because social media told them it was green, they are very impressionable.

So they don't have the ability to know what's real and what's fake.

A lot of them are not doing fact checking, right?

- Yes.

- So a lot of them, they just saying, “well, I got this from social media.

This is what social media told me.

This is what it is.” And scammers, scammers have, had the ability to really, get into the minds of our youth.

Quick come up.

“Hey, send me $25.

I'm going to send you $500.” - God.

- And if a child is already having mental health issues, this will affect them as well.

- Absolutely.

Or any financial issues.

I mean, this shiny object sounds great.

- Yeah.

- Let me take the bait.

I recently, seen something going around social media about, tax law change.

Couple days before Donald Trump even get into office.

I'm like, “okay, guys, how do you think this is real?” I mean, don't get me wrong, he's making some changes.

But tax don't change that quickly.

It takes some time.

And I saw it.

I'm just like, this is spreading like wildfire.

I'm in the tax industry.

I know that there is no change in law.

And it's like the energy it would take to, like, put out all these fires.

It's ridiculous.

And then I found the original creator, and he said it was a complete lie.

He wanted to see how it would take off.

After 12 million views.

- Look at that.

- And God knows how many reposts.

It was all a lie.

He said “I just turned on my camera in my car and I just said it.

I didn't even know if it would even pick up any traction.

- Wow.

- I just said it.” So imagine how much he spread it like wildfires off of something that's completely made up.

- And then the youth is going to run with it.

At first they heard it and they thought it was real.

So they're running with it.

Adults also.

- And let's talk about that.

How do you think it affects adults behavior and their impression?

- Well, again what they say?

“You can't teach an old dog new tricks?” So what I see is what I see, what I believe is what I believe.

And you can't tell me anything different.

- Yes.

- You cannot give me information And don't think I'm going to run with it.

Because guess what?

Some of our adults are kind of like the youth.

- I can agree, I can agree.

And especially on social media, because oh my God, the things that I see, I'm just like, can we fact check please?

- What's that?

- Oh I wish there was like a search button like a fact check, but required on all social media that you could just copy and paste.

Like, “is this a lie?” - But even with fact checking, right.

Everything that's on the internet, you can't believe.

That's true.

They're all turning and changing information.

- It all gets pulled from somewhere.

- Yes.

- Out of make believe land.

So, that's true.

So what role do you think social media, plays in peer pressure and cyberbullying amongst our youth?

- Whew, as you know, suicide rate is up.

And, it can be just a simple.

“Send me a photo of yourself.” - Yes.

- “Show me what you look like.

I love you.” And it could be coming from one of those blue, right?

You think that's authentic.

You think it's the real person.

- Yes.

- The blue check.

- That you can just buy out of nowhere.

- Yeah, right?

So, “Oh, I've been speaking with this person, and they're real.

And, yes, I might have sent them some photos and they told me if I don't send them this money, then they're going to expose me.” And it's a lot of children who have fallen victim.

Even some adults have fallen into that.

- So unfortunate, So unfortunate.

And I'm thinking about my daughter.

She's in middle school.

- Oh.

- I'm kind of glad that they have these new.

I think they're called “Yondr” pouches at school now?

- Oh, yes.

- I am so glad because I don't get to see all the craziness that goes on in school anymore.

Hopefully it reduces down in the school, but I don't get to see it and it’s not spreading around social media.

Have you seen any instances with the kids you deal with?

Where things go viral on social media?

- Yeah, just with teachers.

When a teacher is telling the child, “get off your phone, put your phone up.” And then the one where the teacher took the person's phone, their tablet, and they chase the teacher down, assaulted the teacher really bad., right?

And it's all because of what?

A screen.

It's all because “you took my game.” I mean, even families.

They’re experiencing it with video games it's all an addiction that, was told to us a long time ago that would happen, but we didn't want to hear it.

We didn't want to listen to it.

You know, make sure that you give your children a certain amount of screen time and things of that sort.

But I know we kind of delve into that later.

- Yeah, yeah.

So how can parents or guardians help their children develop like healthy relationships?

You mentioned screen time.

So are there any other things that parents can kind of incorporate?

- Well, I would say make sure that you are checking your children settings.

make sure you have parental advisory on your social media for your children.

make sure you can have the ability to access their computers or phones at any moment, at any time.

because you don't know what you don't know and you're not watching their phones.

They're very savvy with all of these different abilities for you to have a message, and then the message just disappear, right?

Disappearing messages?

- Yeah.

Now it’s so many tools that is allowing people to infiltrate.

The ability for you to know the truth.

- Yeah.

- You don't know what you don't know.

And I say for parents to really just monitor.

- Yeah.

- Monitor their children’s screen time.

Say, “hey, let me see what you're seeing.

What do you like?

What are you on today?” Talk to your children.

Don't allow the tablet to be the babysitter.

Don't allow the phones to, you know, be the babysitter.

You have some interaction with your child.

Make sure you interact with your child.

Don't just allow the devices to talk.

- Great advice, great advice.

I am your host AShira Nelson.

And this is PBS Western Reserve’s Forum 360, where we have a global outlook from a local view.

My guest today is Mikki Smith, where she's going to talk about the effects social media has on our mental health.

So just jumping back in, what would you say would be an appropriate like balance of screen time?

Any advice or anything you can share?

- Sure.

For myself, I can just give you what I know to be true.

For myself, there is a way in your settings that you can say, “okay, at 10:00, every night.

No access to Facebook.

Right?

- Okay.

I like that.

- And then, don't allow me to go back on social media until 9 a.m. Oh, so even if you go into the app, it says you got ten hours and 22 seconds, right?

So every time you even attempt to go in there, it won't allow you to go in there and then do the same thing, put the same settings whatever social media you're on.

I'm on Facebook and Instagram, but I do Facebook more.

So even on Instagram, I only give myself 30 minutes.

- Okay.

- On Instagram a day.

- A day.

Oof!

- Right.

I only give myself an hour.

- Okay.

- On Facebook a day.

So they start doing a countdown.

“You have five minutes left.” - and they'll kind of just like if you spent five hours in a morning and maybe 15 minutes, It'll accumulate the time for you throughout the day?

- Yeah, and see, it allow me to spend five hours.

It won't allow me to spend all the time because I only say an hour.

So it says you have spent 34 minutes, however much time.

So once it's time come up, it says.

“Okay, do you want more time?

Do you want to ignore this time, or do you want us to be done for today?” - Oh, wow.

- Allow it to put you in check.

- Yeah.

Okay, that sounds like the check we all need.

So what are some new, unique challenges you think some other unique challenge you think the youth are facing when it comes to social media?

- Well, again, I'm just going to reiterate that, they don't know what they don't know.

a lot of them think they're really talking to celebrities.

A lot of them think, “oh, this is my friend.

This person has befriended me, and now I'm having conversations with them.

They want me to be in their videos.” You have youth that literally think that they're talking to Michael Jackson.

They're really alive.

I mean, just things of that sort when it's really not true and they don't have that discernment to really know real from fake.

- Okay.

- And as parents, we really have to be mindful ourselves because even our seniors are being scammed because they don't know and they are very impressionable.

Because again, these are all new tools.

These are all new things to them - Absolutely.

Seems like social media been around a while but it really is still fairly new.

The whole idea wasn't around when I was a kid.

Thank God.

To be honest.

- Yeah.

Me too.

I remember when computers first came around.

We had a little dial up.

- Yeah.

Like kids today wouldn't even be able to imagine.

- The commands.

- Man, how different it was.

- Yeah, I think I had the Atari and the Commodore.

- Oh, yes.

Oh, I remember, oh Lord.

Like what are the signs of social media addiction?

- Well, for one, your phone or a device is always in your hand.

They’re tuned out.

Even sometimes our youth are always agitated.

- Okay.

Even with this, this new game, kids are so agitated because people are talking to them, and they're bullying them.

So a lot of the addictions come from just constantly on your device.

- Yeah.

- It's an agitation.

You're talking to them and they don't hear nothing - Nothing.

- you’re saying and they right next to you.

And they're just so involved.

And so just into that device.

That's an addiction.

If you were at the table and you're on your phone, but yet the family is there and you're just on your phone wherever you go, you walking across the street, but you on your phone, you in the car, you're on your phone, you are addicted.

- Okay.

- And do you see the same type of habits and behaviors in adults?

- Absolutely.

- Okay.

- Look and see.

Just do a poll, right?.

Just monitor the behavior of some of your peers that's on social media.

You start seeing them, every five minutes is something new.

“Hey, this is what I got on.

This is what I'm doing today.

See me, see me.” Everybody want to be seen.

Sometimes things are not to be seen.

You know, We forget that when social media wasn't around, we were outside.

“Meet me outside before the lights come on.” Right?

“Let's go here.

Meet me at the park.

Meet me.” Nobody is doing anything.

There's really no meet ups.

And when it's meet ups, guess what?

It's on social media, right?

- Yes.

- We just met, we just had lunch, Look at us, look at the group, right?

- Very true.

- The humanity is gone.

- Yeah.

My three year old would dive for and meet me outside.

Like with her friends.

Like she would love that.

She went outside last night, like, just with the dog.

I'm like, man, if she could just go back a couple years to experience that, Like playing outside with friends.

It just doesn't happen anymore.

- We got to be the authors of that.

We bring it back, right?

- Yeah.

Yeah.

I got to get off this main street that I live on.

“go outside and make some friends.” Yeah.

So let's see.

Can social media be used as a tool to uplift and empower?

- Absolutely.

- Okay.

- Just as it's used as a negative device or a negative connotation to a lot of things, we can positively place positive messages out there, right?

We can give the information that we want people to know.

Hey, did you know that love is free, right?

“Hey, I love you for free.” Just give the positive messages, right?

It's catchy and it's infectious.

- It is.

That's very true.

I love those, accounts.

that do that that motivate and empower.

Okay.

- People want to be motivated.

People want it, you know, but they just don't know how badly they need it, right?

And then when they start seeing it, that's why so many motivational speakers are getting so much money off of social media.

Because people want to be encouraged, they want to be empowered.

- And they need it.

- They do.

They need it to balance out just life.

- Yeah.

- And all the heaviness of life.

- Yes.

- They need it.

So how do you think social media influences, just like, I would say, adults with just their everyday life, just trying to get out of depression or battling depression.

How do you think social media plays on that part?

- Social media, again, like we just said, you can use it two fold, right?

Depending on your algorithm.

- Yeah.

- What are you looking at everyday?

- Yes.

- Right?

- Yeah.

- So if you're constantly watching motivational speakers, guess what's going to come up in your algorithm?

If you're constantly watching negativity and fights, guess what's going to come up in your algorithm?

Change your algorithm.

Change your perception.

Whatever you want to see is what you're going to see more often.

- How can you do that?

How can you change that algorithm?

How can you change your stories or what's being fed to them?

- For one, it’s what you search.

- Okay.

- Right?

So if you think about what you're searching the most for myself, I'm a coach, and I coach basketball, right?

I've coached basketball for 20 years, and what I'm always looking at is different plays.

Because I have grandsons, right?

I have eight grandsons, and a lot of them, they play basketball.

They play football.

So I'm always sending my son different plays that he can show them.

So guess what comes up now?

Nothing but different techniques on basketball.

- Okay.

- So watch what you're searching Even your thoughts.

Believe it or not, your thoughts become reality.

So watch what you're thinking.

Watch what you're putting out there.

And it's all what you’re searching.

You could change your algorithm by your search.

- Good point.

It's so crazy that it could be two people growing up in the same house can have completely different social media feeds.

They can be having a conversation.

Those conversations are being integrated into social media.

but still have two completely different feeds.

- Yeah.

Sometimes for me, I don't even want to pick up, like, my husband or my daughter's like social media because it's just so different.

My husband is like music and like what he's interested in.

And then my daughters is like TikTok dances and dances and dogs and like, I don't know, hair tutorials.

It's just so different.

But it does, it seeps into what you're thinking about, what you're talking about, even off that device.

- Absolutely.

- It's even capturing that.

Which is just crazy, - What you’re searching on Google.

- Oh my God, that's happened to me.

- And then guess what happens?

Now, those ads are integrated in your social media.

- Absolutely.

I was on the computer looking up a swim school for one of my daughters on the computer doing this.

I get on my phone.

Another swim school is advertising to me.

I'm like, this is absolutely crazy.

- Yeah.

- Craziness.

but hey, what can we do?

- I had recently got accepted to Case for a Masters in social work.

- Congratulations.

- Thank you.

And now all the masters in social work programs are guess what?

In my feeds.

- It's just so crazy how powerful it can be.

And now it's just showing it, like we didn't ask for it.

or like we went to that page.

It's just completely crazy.

- I didn't ask for that.

- Oh my God.

So how can individuals set healthy boundaries with social media to protect their well-being?

- For one, know yourself, right?

- Okay.

- Sometimes we are looking for the answers in others we are looking for answers outside of ourselves.

The answer is inside.

It is within us.

So sometimes you know, journal.

Write, right?

Instead of always telling social media how you feeling it wants to know what's on your mind.

- It's asking me “what are you doing today?” - “What's on your mind?” You know, maybe journal, you know, put a 15 minute timer on and just journal for 15 minutes instead of telling the world, how you feeling.

Tell yourself, go back.

Document how you feeling that day.

You know everything.

Don't have to be placed on social media.

- Okay.

- You know, look and see.

If there's some things that's going on that you would like to attend.

Try not posting it.

- Okay.

- Try not providing details.

Every accountability of everything that you're doing.

Don't do it.

Just allow yourself to be free.

And when you talk about healthy boundaries.

Sometimes detox.

Get off of it.

Right?

Give yourself you know say “maybe I'll go on social media Monday, Wednesday and Friday.” - Oh I like that.

- Right?

- Okay.

Well our guest today was Mikki Smith bringing her expertise, knowledge and experience to help us better understand healthy boundaries with social media.

And this is Forum 360 where we have a global outlook from a local view.

Forum 360 is brought to you by John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, the Akron Community Foundation, Hudson Community Television, The Rubber City Radio Group, Shaw Jewish Community Center of Akron, Blue Green, Electric Impulse Communications, and Forum 360 supporters.