Social Media and Mental Health: How Student Affairs Professionals Can Help
Duration: 1 hour
Facilitator: Dr. Aaron Hughey
Price: $50.00
Overview:
Could there possibly be a cause-and-effect relationship between the growing propensity of rising generations to spend every waking hour staring at a screen and the rise in anxiety, depression and suicide we have seen among the college student population? Participants will learn the latest research concerning the emerging connection between over involvement with social media and college students’ emotional and mental health. Participants will also learn how to effectively intervene with affected students in order to help them be more successful in college, after college, and in life in general.
This webinar will provide evidence-based best practices and related information and insights that can be used immediately to respond more effectively and efficiently to the needs of students who are experiencing emotional and mental health challenges due to their extensive involvement with social media.
Outline:
- Characteristics of Today’s College Students: Similarities/Differences
- Technology: A Blessing that Can Become a Curse
- Over Involvement with Social Media and Emotional and Mental Health Issues: Emerging Trends
- Social Media and Stress, Anxiety, Depression, Violence, and Suicide
- Emotional States and Their Connection to Social Media
- Symptomology and Warning Signs
- Successful Intervention: Recognition through Recovery
Learning Outcomes:
- Describe the emerging relationship between over involvement with social media and emotional issues and mental illness
- Assess students’ level of involvement with social media
- Educate students, faculty, staff, and student affairs professionals regarding social media and how over involvement can precipitate stress, anxiety, depression, and even suicide and violence
- Differentiate emotional states and their emerging connection to social media
- Recognize basic symptomology and warning signs associated with over involvement with social media
- Develop and implement a blueprint for effectively assisting students who are experiencing emotional and mental challenges due to their overindulgence in social media
Who Should Attend:
Anyone who works on a college campus or is in anyway responsible for making sure the environment is fully accessible and responsive to the special needs of these students will benefit. This includes faculty, administrators, student affairs professionals, and staff from both 2-year and 4-year institutions; i.e., anyone who is charged with meeting the comprehensive needs of students who are experiencing mental health challenges and keeping the campus safe and secure.
Presenter Biography:
Dr. Aaron W Hughey is a Professor in the Department of Counseling and Student Affairs at Western Kentucky University, where he oversees the graduate degree program in Student Affairs in Higher Education. Before joining the faculty in 1991, he spent 10 years in progressive administrative positions, including five years as the Associate Director of University Housing at WKU. He was also head of the department of Counseling and Student Affairs for five years before returning to the faculty full-time in 2008. Dr. Hughey has degrees from the University of Tennessee at Martin, the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, Western Kentucky University, and Northern Illinois University. He has authored (or co-authored) over 60 refereed publications on a wide range of issues including leadership and student development, counseling, standardized testing, diversity, legal issues, and educational administration. He regularly presents at national and international conferences and consults extensively with companies and schools. He also provides training and professional development programs on a variety of topics centered on student success; working with students who have a variety of challenges, including issues with social media, is one of his specialties. This is a topic he has researched and regularly covers in his graduate classes.