ARC talks cyberstalking and speaking with teens on healthy relations

It’s no mystery teens spend a great deal of time on their mobile devices each day. According to Statista, the average time spent daily on a phone by the average person, not counting talking on the phone, has increased in recent years, reaching a total of 4 hours and 30 minutes as of April 2022. This figure is expected to reach around 4 hours and 39 minutes this year.

February is National Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Month. As part of their public service to parents and teens this month, Sheridan Advocacy and Resource Center Executive Director Yvonne Swanson, stopped by Sheridan Media’s Public Pulse to discuss and identify the red flags of a possible controlling teen relationship. 

Gone is the malt shop and even the mall. Most teens enjoy engaging in social media. It keeps friends and family up to date, informs teens of new trends and has become the social hub for teens. With the addition of photos, videos and even present locations being posted on social media platforms, the dangers of social media have also become a daily reality.    

In cases of teen dating violence, some teens use texting and social media messaging as a way to control their partner. That posted information, considered innocent by most teens, can become a technique to track, control and cyberstalk. 

Y. Swanson

The Advocacy and Resource Center often holds assemblies at local jr. high and high schools to help teens identify an abusive relationship. 

Aggressive control tactics, such as Swanson described, can continue throughout the day and well into the night through texting, emails and social media. This constant digital control not only takes a toll on overall well-being, mental and emotional health but performance in the classroom, in sports and interactions with family. 

Lacking the emotional maturity of what they are doing, many teens may not even realize that these are types of abuse, detrimental to the mental health of a partner. 

Swanson suggested speaking to teens, helping them to understand what a healthy relationship looks like and how partners can be attentive to each other without the need to control their partner’s actions.   

According to Swanson, although some teens may not behave like it on the surface, she has found that most teens do listen when parents and mentors take the time to discuss important and sometimes difficult issues with them. 

Y. Swanson

To learn more about teen dating violence, click here. To learn more or contact the Sheridan Advocacy and Resource Center, click here.