The Engage Initiative: Addressing Negative Social Media Use on Campus

Abstract

Social media has dramatically altered society in a relatively short period of time. Unfortunately, our generation’s inexperience with this technology has also created some “growing pains.” At present, there is no organization on campus to address the effect social media has had on students’ mental wellbeing, productivity, and other aspects of life. Enter the Engage Initiative. We are a student-led grassroots initiative with the mission of helping fellow students at the University of Michigan optimize their relationship with social media by discarding negative habits associated with the technology. Our operations are centered around three strategies: 1. To develop a fluid curriculum for educating students on how to properly use social media. 2. To teach our curriculum in small interactive seminars around campus. 3. To implement mass marketing initiatives around campus. Our Initiative is currently addressing the needs of fellow Michigan students, but once we establish ourselves we expect to expand our outreach to nearby public schools and other university campuses.