LCSD, LPL Partner to Discuss Youth Mental Health

The Liverpool Central School District and the Liverpool Public Library have partnered to host a series of community discussions focused on youth mental health and technology.
 
“Understanding the Anxious Generation: A Community Conversation on Technology, Youth Mental Health, and Digital Wellbeing” is a collaborative book study that brings together LCSD and LPL staff, families, and community partners to explore youth anxiety, technology use, and mental health through shared reading and open dialogue. 
The program examines how digital technology is shaping childhood while encouraging community-wide solutions to support student wellbeing.
 
The discussions center on The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness by Jonathan Haidt. 
The research highlighted in the book points to a sharp rise in anxiety, depression, attention challenges, and social withdrawal among young people, aligning with two major shifts: the move from play-based childhoods to phone-based childhoods, and earlier, more immersive access to digital spaces.
 
Registration is required to attend each session.
 
The first panel discussion, “Expert Perspectives on Digital Wellbeing,” will take place on March 4, from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m., in the Liverpool Public Library’s Carmen Community Room. 
 
Panelists will include local pediatricians, child and adolescent mental health professionals, school counselors and psychologists, technology and digital literacy educators, and representatives from community youth organizations. 
The discussion will address trends in youth anxiety, age-based screen time recommendations, warning signs for families and educators, evidence-based interventions and resources, school policies and best practices, and community support systems.
 
Register for the first session online.
 
The second panel discussion, “Student Voices on Technology,” will take place on April 21, from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m., in the Chestnut Hill Middle Library. 
 
Panelists will include Liverpool High School students, a student moderator, and a faculty advisor. 
 
Students will share their experiences with cell phone use and social media, peer pressure and digital communication, the benefits and challenges of constant connectivity, perspectives on phone restrictions, mental health impacts they have observed, and what they believe adults often misunderstand about teen technology use.
 
Register for the second session online.
 
Together, these conversations aim to raise awareness of youth mental health challenges, strengthen communication between generations about technology, build stronger school-family-community partnerships, and identify actionable strategies to support youth wellbeing.