This brief by the National Mentoring Resource Center, a program of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), discusses how mentoring can steer teens toward beneficial rather than riskier uses of digital technology and social media.
Published by National Mentoring Resource Center, a program of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), this brief is geared towards helping youth mentoring programs support positive social media use for the youth they serve. Attention is paid to the opportunities for mentors to mitigate the risks and maximize the benefits of digital technology use by teens. Given the salience of digital technology in the lives of youth, mentors may benefit from strategies to help establish and support digital wellness in their mentees. Although it is recognized that digital technology is broader than social media, this brief focuses primarily on social media platforms (Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, etc.) given that it is a salient topic for adults mentoring young people. The guidance provided is intended to assist mentoring programs with equipping their mentors in this endeavor.