Social media, technology, and the impact on Children and Young People

Overview

There is no escaping the impact on technology on our lives, particularly after the lockdowns that forced us apart and into our homes. But technology and particularly social media, is so new that we're only just starting to understand what it means for humans, and particularly our children.

This presentation will aim to look at: Where are we now? What types of technology and social media are our children engaging in / exposed to? In what ways is it impacting on our young people's brains? How does this show up in everyday life? How does it change the way children can relate to others and to the self? Is social media responsible for a decrease in self-worth and how does this manifest? Can we be addicted to technology? As the 'adults in charge' how do we support our young people to navigate this new world?

About the presenter

Annie Chappell

Annie is an Integrative Adolescent Therapeutic Counsellor who trained at The Institute for Arts in Therapy & Education. She is a Trauma-Informed Consultant and Trainer with the local Virtual Schools team to support staff working with CLA students across the borough and beyond and a Senior Trainer, Supervisor and Awards Consultant for TISUK. Annie trained in Breathwork Coach accredited with CPCAB and EFT Practitioner and has twenty plus years' experience in working within education, predominantly with adolescents at risk of exclusion. She has worked across mainstream secondary schools, running internal provisions for young people with SEMH difficulties.

Annie has worked as a Therapeutic Lead across a MAT including two special needs schools and an AP. She set up and helped run a Therapeutic Provision for key adolescent boys who had high levels of aggression and violence. In addition, Annie set up and delivered a counselling service for SLD & PMLD students within a large secondary special needs school. Annie has worked as a SEMH Co-Ordinator for a local project aimed at reducing permanent exclusions across all age ranges and set up and delivered a counselling service within an AP for permanently excluded adolescents. This included weekly Therapeutic Workshops for every class within the school.