Julie Davis
jdavis@cherryroad.com
Hayward Elementary will host an informational “BraveBe Parents Night” on digital citizenship at 6 p.m. Tuesday, April 15, at the school, 306 S. 14th St. The community is invited to attend and learn more about social media.
Hayward Principal Scot Davis and Hayward Guidance Counselor Sara Halvorsen discussed how students can be responsible digital citizens with the Nebraska City Rotary Club during the club’s March 12 meeting.
The purpose of the April 15 event is to make parents and the community in general to make people aware of the dangers of social media, said Davis.
The event is being presented by the BraveBe Child Advocacy Center in Lincoln, he said, and it’s part of proactive efforts the center is undertaking to help protect children when they are online.
Halvorson said some of the topics that BraveBe representatives discuss with students include what a digital footprint is, what information shouldn’t be shared online, why a digital reputation matters, who the invisible audience online is, and what students can do if they receive inappropriate invitations or conversations online.
Davis said mental health experts noticed a change in students’ mental health and well-being around 2010, which is about the same time smartphones became popular. The experts noted increasing levels of depression, anxiety, and thoughts of self-harm as people began spending 5 to 10 hours a day on screens.
Anyone who has a phone “can be affected,” said Davis, who added that Nebraska City Public Schools has taken steps to help improve the mental health of their students by adding full-time guidance counselors to each school building (Northside, Hayward, NC Middle School, and NC High School), working with students on positive behavior modifications in each building, and setting limits on smartphone usage in school.
“We are doing the things we can,” he said.
Halvorson said the human brain is not designed to absorb “all this information all the time” and that the brain needs periods of rest away from screens.
