On June 26th, the Girls Club had its first, long-awaited, in-person program since the start of the pandemic entitled, Social Media: How does it help? How does it hurt? Thirteen girls between the ages of 12-14 attended the event, which was facilitated by Dr. Zohraida Karim, a PhD in early childhood development with a passion for education.
Dr. Zohraida provided an overview of the social media platforms and engaged in dialogue with the participants about the positive and negative impacts of social media on health, education, youth and the society at large. Through the creation of a safe space and comfortable environment, the girls shared their personal experiences with social media with one another, some citing the positive impact of having access to a wealth of information and the ability to learn so many things in an easy manner. Others shared some negative experiences of the impact of social media on body image, cyberbullying and development of addictive behavior to the “screen”. The session concluded by providing the girls with some safety and security tips on how to responsibly use social media. The Women’s Activity Portfolio looks forward to more in-person Girls Club sessions in the second half of 2022.