The Grenville Baker Boys & Girls Club hosted a community conversation on Nov. 17 titled “Social Media, Mental Health & the Crisis Facing America’s Youth.” The event brought together medical, educational, law enforcement and political experts to explore how digital platforms are shaping the mental and emotional well-being of young people.
Moderated by Dr. Laura J. Morizio, clinical director of Coast Psychology in Oyster Bay, the panel featured Dr. Allison Eliscu, division chief of adolescent medicine at Stony Brook Children’s Hospital; Kristen Turnow, superintendent of the Locust Valley Central School District; Assembly Member Charles D. Lavine, representing New York’s 13th District; and Detective Antonio Pagan, an NYPD Special Victims Unit and FBI Task Force officer.
The evening began with opening remarks from Melissa Rhodes, the club’s executive director, who welcomed guests to the building and emphasized the organization’s commitment to youth development.
“What we strive to do in terms of mental health is making sure that our kids are kids, and when they're coming to the club, they're playing, they're making friends, they're learning,” Rhodes said. “The goal is that they have a play-based experience as opposed to a phone-based experience.”
Morizio then opened the panel discussion, beginning with Eliscu, who described the sharp rise in mental health challenges among adolescents in recent years, particularly since the Coronavirus pandemic.
“What I thought may have been a challenging job before dramatically changed in March of 2020,” Eliscu reminisced. “The only way that kids could interact with anybody was online. We saw a shift fairly quickly of people just almost forgetting how to talk to people in person.”
Eliscu explained that social anxiety, depression, and attention problems have surged as digital dependence has grown. She also discussed the biological effects of excessive social media use, noting how constant online engagement alters the brain’s dopamine regulation system, the same reward pathway affected by addiction.
“Anytime that you get that reward, whether it’s a drug, alcohol, gambling or the phone, it gives you a dopamine release,” Eliscu said. “Our body actually seeks dopamine again. So, when the phone is taken away, they’re not at an average dopamine level, they’re at a below-average dopamine level. And we get angry when our dopamine levels are low.”
According to Eliscu, these neurological changes can make young people irritable, anxious, or prone to emotional outbursts when disconnected.
She also identified groups most at risk, including teens, girls, individuals on the autism spectrum, and those with prior mental health conditions. Still, she acknowledged that social media can offer positive outlets for connection and creativity when used mindfully.
“It’s not all bad, and in some ways, we have to embrace it a little,” Eliscu said. “It can be helpful for people who especially can’t feel like they can find their group or their niche, whether it’s in their high school or clubs, finding other people like them. A lot of individuals who identify as LGBTQ have found support if they didn’t find it within their school or family.”
After discussing the medical perspective, Dr. Morizio turned to Superintendent Turnow to explore what schools are witnessing.
“I’ve noticed that there are two key areas that students really have dramatically changed,” Turnow said. “That’s sustained attention and emotional regulation. We see kids get upset very quickly. That was not something that happened before.” Turnow, who has served as a school administrator for 24 years, said that technology has both enabled and complicated the educational environment.
She noted that the Locust Valley Central School District expanded its mental health staff and implemented new initiatives to reduce student phone use during the day. “We wrote a very thoughtful, comprehensive letter to our students’ families and really asked them to not either send in a phone or, if you do, we’re going to be asking the children to turn it off, to keep it in their locker or backpack,” Turnow said. “I think the reason we were successful, even our first year, was because we helped our parents understand the why.”
According to Turnow, parents have supported those efforts, teachers, and students alike. “Our first year was not as bumpy as we anticipated,” she said. “We found out that kids did not know their parents’ phone numbers, which was a learning opportunity.” The district’s outdoor spaces and recess programs have also been redesigned to encourage play and face-to-face interaction.
She said that these changes led to measurable improvements in behavior and communication. “I see kids finally starting to make eye contact again,” Turnow said. “Student anxiety that’s related to social status and online disputes has significantly reduced. Our referrals are decreased significantly. Kids aren’t being sent down to the principal’s office for saying silly things.”
Assembly Member Charles Lavine spoke about the role of government in addressing the mental health challenges linked to social media, outlining recent legislative actions at the state level. He highlighted three key initiatives: banning cell phones in public schools, the Safe for Kids Act, and the New York Child Data Protection Act.
Lavine praised schools that have removed phones from classrooms, saying the change has allowed teachers “to actually teach again” and helped students focus on critical thinking rather than test preparation.
While emphasizing that these laws represent major steps forward, Lavine noted that the broader crisis extends beyond New York’s borders. To make lasting change, he said, families, schools, and communities must engage directly with lawmakers.
“Continue to gather, as we are doing today,” Lavine urged. “We have to band together to be able to provide the critical mass that's needed to demand change and demand protection for our children.”
For more information about Grenville Baker Boys & Girls Club, visit gbbgc.org.
