Girdwood hosts Homer Police forum on ‘Parenting in the Digital Age’

By Emily Lewis and Briana Sullivan

TN Contributors

On a recent Friday evening in Girdwood, a much anticipated guest speaker came to Girdwood thanks to outreach and support from the Public Safety Advisory Committee and Girdwood Board of Supervisors. Lieutenant Ryan Browning of the Homer Police Department engaged parents and youth in a frank conversation about the real life risks of youth social media usage, cyberbullying, sexting.

 Lt. Browning’s time as a police officer, and personal experience as a father of two teens himself, inspired him to create his two hour presentation “Parenting in the Digital Age.” Over the last year Browning has traveled all over the state of Alaska sharing his thoughtful, engaging, and at times provocative, two hour program with the goal of helping parents and teens open up a dialogue about what they’re seeing and experiencing online.  

Lt. Ryan Browning, Homer Police Department makes a presentation on ‘Parenting in the Digital Age" on Oct 6. The presentation was hosted by the Girdwood Public Safety Committee and GBOS. (Photos by Briana Sullivan)

 Lt. Browning shared that a recent study showed that a majority of parents of teens are concerned about the impact of social media, screens, phones and texting, however only one third of participants in the study were actually talking to their kids about those fears. In this time of unprecedented internet availability, parents are right to be concerned. In fact, in May of this year Surgeon General Vivek Murthy issued an advisory on the effects of social media of youth mental health. According to the advisory, social media has the potential to perpetuate isolation, depression, body dissatisfaction, disordered eating, social comparison, and low self-esteem, especially among adolescent girls.

 Anna Fleming, a Girdwood parent and teacher, attended with her 11 year old son. “One of my takeaways as a parent is the importance of ongoing frank communication with my kids about the internet and social media, and also that everything you post or send on your phone can easily be made public and permanent,” said Fleming. Both Anna and her son Jasper were moved by the stories of young people who made seemingly minor mistakes online that had lasting, and sometimes tragic, consequences. “I thought it was pretty interesting, and definitely opened my eyes a bit more,” reported Jasper Fleming.

Brochures distributed during the presentation provided valuable information to parents and youth.

 Throughout his talk, Browning reiterated that additional information is out there and accessible to all for further education and support. Resources that helped inform his program include NetSmartz, and the Institute for Responsible Online and Cellphone Communication (IROC2) https://www.iroc2.org. He also recommended the book "Public and Permanent" by Richard Guerry. 

 Lt. Browning emphasized that even good kids can make bad choices, however its parents’ responsibility to be informed and provide both guidance and guardrails. “When your kid turns 16 you wouldn’t just hand over the keys to the car without any instruction or supervision. Parents need to take the same precautions with social media that they do with driving,” said Lt. Browning. Browning shared that one of the most important things anyone with a young person in their life can do, be it a son, daughter, niece, nephew or grandchild, is to let them know that you’re there for them and you love them.