Teens give us advice on social media use: 5 podcasts from the YES groups

As "communication" was this year's central theme for CAMHI's Youth Engagement Scheme (YES), what could be more fitting than for the young people to experiment with a modern communication channel, the podcast? With the support of their coordinators, members of the Adolescent Advisory Groups from Athens, Alexandroupolis, Ioannina, Thessaloniki, and Heraklion, Crete, recorded studio discussions on how social media affects their everyday lives, resulting in five different podcasts, one from each city where the Program operates.

Their topic didn't come about by chance. The teens drew their inspiration from extensive research conducted by CAMHI, in collaboration with the Child Mind Institute, titled "Growing Up Digital". Examining in depth how social media shapes the lives of today's teenagers, the research captures both the opportunities and the risks inherent in their digital daily lives, and serves as a point of reference for understanding how technology affects the mental health and development of young people in Greece.

Inspired by our research, the young people formed their own questions and opened up an honest discussion around three key issues: what they genuinely gain from using social media, what risks they themselves recognize in it, and how they feel about the possibility of it being banned. Delivered through the authentic voice of teenage experience, their answers make up five distinct podcasts, one from each city, highlighting both common ground and differing perspectives shaped by each group's context.

Once again, the whole process confirmed something the YES team knows well from experience: given the right environment and the space they need, teenagers respond with maturity and take responsibility for the issues that directly concern them.

You can listen to all five podcasts here, and read the full CAMHI research report, "Growing Up Digital" here.

CAMHI's Youth Engagement Scheme (YES) is implemented in collaboration with the Child Mind Institute, with exclusive support from the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF), as part of SNF's Global Health Initiative (GHI).