When I started consulting in tobacco prevention nearly three decades ago, some of the anti-tobacco pioneers I came across seemed almost paranoid to me. It was like they saw Big Tobacco conspiracies everywhere they turned.

Well, as the saying goes, you’re not paranoid if they’re really out to get you.

Over time I learned that the tobacco industry’s dirty tricks are stranger than fiction, and much more deadly.

Here’s the simple truth: Big Tobacco’s superpower is that its customers are physically addicted to its products. It’s the best customer retention strategy ever.

This strategy had just one flaw: Cigarettes kill about half of lifelong smokers. So, the customers were hooked, but they then died, an inconvenient fact for the industry.

That’s why the industry lured kids to pick up smoking. They were, as one industry memo stated, “replacement smokers.” The marketing formula: Teen-focused ads, discounts for cost-sensitive teens, and fruity and menthol (i.e., minty) flavors that masked tobacco’s harshness for young smokers.

Technological advances allowed Big Tobacco to move beyond cigarettes to flavored vape and now oral nicotine products (ONPs) — and attempt to launder its dirty past.

If you aren’t familiar with ONPs, look at the signs and the displays at your local convenience store. They are discreet, cheap, and ultra-potent. A winning formula for addicting kids.

Some claim ONPs like Zyn from Philip Morris International U.S., which now has a factory in Adams County, Colorado, offer “harm reduction” for smokers, providing nicotine without the risks from burning tobacco. (It also was the pitch of Juul Labs, before that lie was exposed.)

But this pitch ignores the harms of nicotine itself. Nicotine is a naturally occurring insecticide because it’s poison. The health risks to humans are well documented, beyond addiction.

Yet the latest tobacco industry trick is to reframe nicotine as “misunderstood,” even claiming alleged cognitive benefits.

After three decades of work in this sector, I am no longer surprised.

The Big Tobacco playbook is to lie and deny.

Deny that nicotine is addictive (until that lie ran its course).

Deny that the industry markets to kids (despite the mounting volume of evidence to the contrary, including its own internal documents).

To readers, it may seem that I’ve become one of the advocates who I once discounted as almost paranoid. I encourage you to venture out on your own fact-finding journey. You may be amazed and dismayed by what you find.

You may want to start with this short piece on ONPs and tobacco industry claims.

“Recovery starts when stigma ends.”

That’s the message of a new local public awareness campaign created to dispel stigma around addiction, including opioid use disorder, and to inspire the community to rise together to meet the challenge of this devastating epidemic.

The bilingual campaign, a collaborative effort of Chaffee, Custer, Fremont and Park counties, directs the community to information and resources available at EndStigmaStartRecovery.org and ParaElEstigma.org.

The campaign notes that one in six Americans has a substance use disorder. It states: “Whatever the substance, these are our neighbors, friends and family members. They deserve compassion, support, and evidence-based treatment to recover and thrive. We all can play an important role.”

The campaign features original portraits of four Coloradans who are in recovery from substance use disorder. Their nuanced portraits and the words they chose to describe themselves – dad, mother, grandfather, son, adventurer, advocate, runner, community member – illustrate their multifaceted identities.

The campaign uses digital ads, billboards, posters, drink coasters, and pocket cards to spread the word around the region.

The four counties are organized as the Region 15 Opioid Abatement Council, one of 19 regions established by the Colorado Department of Law to distribute opioid settlement funds for substance use disorder treatment, recovery, harm reduction, law enforcement, and prevention/education programs.

The Colorado Department of Law has sued pharmaceutical manufacturers and distributors and is on track to receive over $750 million in opioid settlement funds.

“Many people unintentionally became addicted to opioids, which were aggressively and misleadingly marketed by drug companies,” said Andrea Carlstrom, director of Chaffee County Public Health. “People with opioid use disorder or other types of substance use disorder need support and evidence-based treatment to recover and thrive. This campaign aims to inspire more people to start their recovery journey.”

“Our community can and must rise to meet the growing threat of fentanyl, which has caused a surge in overdoses,” said Patrick Fiore, substance abuse coordinator with the Custer County Public Health Agency.

“Effective treatment for opioid use disorder requires that we prevent overdoses. That entails making naloxone, known by the brand name Narcan, widely available, learning how to use it, and keeping it nearby.”

“Openly and candidly discussing these issues with friends and loved ones is an essential step toward recovery,” said Paula Buser, director of Fremont County Public Health and Environment. “This campaign is designed to spark those discussions across our community and among local families.”

“People recover from addiction, going on to live long, healthy, and rewarding lives,” said Lynn Ramey, director of the Park County Public Health Agency.

“Recovering from an opioid use disorder or dependence on another substance requires more than just willpower. Evidence-based treatment works.”

The campaign was created by SE2, a Colorado-based behavior change marketing agency. The portraits were drawn for SE2 by Javier Robles, a Colorado illustrator.

“We’re grateful for the vision of these health leaders at the four counties and for the courage of the local folks in recovery who agreed to be featured in the campaign,” said SE2 Co-Founder Eric Anderson. “Our team has been touched personally by this issue and we’re honored to be able to highlight how we all have a role to play in addressing it.”

In the ongoing effort to address the epidemic of youth vaping, the recent settlement six states plus the District of Columbia secured against Juul presents a groundbreaking opportunity to secure the future health and well-being of an entire generation.  

Using this $460 million-plus settlement to advance youth prevention isn’t just an investment; it’s a chance to avoid a new generation of nicotine-addicted adults.  

Youth vaping is more than just a trend; it’s a public health crisis. Research shows that nicotine, regardless of how it’s derived or delivered, harms developing brains. We also know that teens become addicted to nicotine through vaping and often end up smoking regular cigarettes. 

Big Vape, the Netflix four-part documentary series based on the book by the same name, vividly describes how Juul marketed its highly addictive devices to teens, causing an epidemic of underage use.  

The legal settlement with Juul offers an unprecedented opportunity. By investing the funds into comprehensive and evidence-based prevention campaigns, we can start rewriting this grim narrative. 

Prevention is, without a doubt, the most cost-effective and impactful way to address this issue. Every dollar directed towards campaigns aimed at dissuading young people from vaping has the potential to save countless more in future healthcare expenses. In fact, a body of research shows that there is a positive return on every dollar invested in prevention campaigns – with some analyses showing as much as $18 saved for every $1 spent.  

The Juul settlement provides an infusion of resources that can be channeled into comprehensive educational programs and community outreach. These campaigns will provide youth with the knowledge they need to make informed decisions to support their health. 

These investments offer a profound return on the broader societal scale. A generation of healthier, addiction-free individuals is better able to live happy, productive lives and contribute to our communities. By curbing youth vaping now, we pave the way for a stronger, more prosperous future. And as research indicates, nicotine addiction can pave the way for other addiction later in life. This underscores the importance of preventing addiction early on, not only as a morally sound choice but also to mitigate societal impacts in the future. 

Yet, the significance of these prevention campaigns extends far beyond the immediate health and economic benefits. It is intertwined with the crucial aspect of youth connection.  

Adolescents often turn to unhealthy behaviors like vaping when they lack a sense of belonging, purpose, or connection. By directing settlement funds into youth engagement and support programs, we not only address the symptoms but the root causes of a wide range of unhealthy or risky behaviors. 

Youth connection initiatives not only create a sense of belonging but also provide opportunities for skill-building, resilience, and personal growth. When our young people are connected to trusted adults and peers, they are happier and healthier.  By nurturing their sense of purpose, we create an environment where the choice to vape becomes less enticing and less likely.  

Our communities and schools can become hubs of connection, where young people can explore their interests, passions, and futures while avoiding substances that would only get in the way of their dreams. When we connect our youth with mentors, positive role models, and resources, we offer them alternatives that will enrich their lives rather than endanger them. 

The Juul settlement dollars offer an unprecedented chance to rewrite the story of our youth, to prevent lifetimes of nicotine addiction.  

This is not just a financial investment; it’s a moral one. It’s an investment in the health, well-being, and potential of our nation’s youth. We cannot afford to let this opportunity pass us by. It’s a chance to save a generation, and we must seize it. Their future depe

It’s no secret that social media can be toxic and exacerbate mental health issues.

But can it also offer support?

When the pandemic started, social media was an easy place to find a distraction and to keep the mind busy. Of course, when upsetting imagery saturates all of social media, this distraction suddenly only worsens things.

Having said that, I think it’s important that we acknowledge the help some forms of social media can provide us. Reddit is one of the social media sites that we can use to support our mental health. 

Reddit is filled with thousands of communities, known as subreddits, tailored to attract specific fan bases and to bring people together.

I’ve found that it’s almost impossible to think of a subreddit that doesn’t already exist. Case in point: Want someone else’s opinion if you’re in the wrong? See r/AITA (Am I the Asshole?).

The subreddit r/Anxiety was a particular favorite and frequently visited site of mine. This subreddit was created in 2008 and has accumulated over 600,000 members.

When I was struggling with my anxiety it was relieving to hear of others going through the same waves and how they’ve made it through to the other side.

However, I couldn’t help but notice the hundreds of posts that never received any interaction from other community members. All of those questions and concerns left unanswered and floating in Reddit cyberspace….

I’ve spent the past nine months researching and writing my undergraduate thesis paper about what, how and why certain posts within r/Anxiety receive more engagement than others. Let’s break down what my research revealed and what we can take from it. 

To measure the level of engagement of a post, you can look at upvotes and clicks but, for the purpose of my research, I used the number of replies to a post as an indicator of the level of engagement. The post that received the most engagement had 633 replies and the least had 0 replies.

To directly compare the posts with higher levels of engagement and lower levels of engagement, I pulled 999 posts from the r/Anxiety subreddit and organized them from the most replies to the least.

There are direct and indirect ways of marshaling social support. 

Direct methods include:

• Defending aspects of their mental health such as their perspective and experience
• People reexamined beliefs that they held about their mental health
• Solicitation and direct requests of specific forms of social support (informational, esteem, emotional, and social presence)

Indirect methods include:

• Self-enhancement: when posters shared good news and updates on their mental health 
• Other-enhancement: when poster aimed to increase the esteem of the reader through encouragement, compliments, etc.
• Highlighting positives: poster actively notes the positive qualities of their mental health
• Recruitment for help with their mental health

My data revealed that posts that used a direct support marshaling strategy, but more specifically solicited informational and social presence support, received the most engagement from the community. 

In the low-engagement posts, highlighting positives was the most used form of support marshaling. Highlighting positives would look like someone updating the community about their improvements and progress. 

While it seems odd that this type of post usually receives little engagement, it gives us insight into why people use the r/Anxiety subreddit. The users are not there to individually congratulate other members on their mental health progress, but instead they are there to provide actionable advice.

This doesn’t mean that there is no space on Reddit for users to share their growth. Many subreddits are tailored for more specific uses, such as sharing accomplishments.

From this research, we can better understand how Reddit users can receive the most help when posting on r/Anxiety. Given that the direct support marshaling strategies resulted in higher engagement levels, if users ask direct questions that ask for information or social presence, they’ll have a better chance of getting a response. These posts could look like: “What do I do if I missed one dose of my medication?” and “I’m feeling really lonely today, does anyone want to chat?”.

Avoiding vague and non-engaging posts such as “I have so much anxiety, this is the worst” could increase the chances of getting engagement. Perhaps it can help to imagine if you were another user reading your post; if there isn’t something concrete you can touch on or help with, you’re probably less likely to take the time to write a comment.

If you would like to read more about my research, my full thesis can be found on my LinkedIn page. 

Isabel Anderson will graduate from the University of Washington in December of 2023 with Honors from the Communication Department.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/isabel-anderson-331962211/

Gmail: isabelanderson72@gmail.com

Rising vaping, alcohol abuse, food insecurity, gun violence, mental health disparities, and social isolation. Public health officials are working hard to find and communicate solutions for these pressing topics.  

Because these issues disproportionately affect low-income and minority populations, public health professionals must rethink how they can effectively each these communities and create long-term positive change.  

Increasingly, public health officials have turned to the most-impacted communities. After all, who best to innovate solutions than those closest to the issues?  

What does authentic community engagement look like?  

Authentic community engagement means more than public health entities simply surveying the community for their thoughts or allowing them to host events. It should aim to go past focus groups, or even just grants. The ideal version of these community partnerships should be community leaders and members at a shared table with officials. One way to model this could look like this:   

Graphic credit: Yu, E. (2022). Community engagement. American Public Health Association. 

Alignment  

For change to be sustained, communities’ values and behaviors must align with the solutions. Ensuring these align also ensures that a mutual investment is established to continue the work beyond any official public health partnership.  

It’s also important to align with communities on what is reasonable in terms of time, resources, and interest. Asking a community with limited leadership, volunteerism, or resources to take on a more prominent place in your partnership than they can reasonably sustain would not be aligned with the work.  

Balance of Power 

Successful community engagement should also balance power between communities and public health officials, with the ideal moving in the direction of community members. It’s not making room for communities at the table; it’s allowing them to create their own space.  

Collaboration  

The goal here is moving beyond community participation to community integration — from working for the community to working with communities as equal strategic partners.  

Ultimately this can be boiled down to the following quote. 

“What matters to community members matters the most.”  

Yu, E. (2022). Community engagement. American Public Health Association. 

Recently, we engaged with a youth LGBTQIA+ organization in a partnership that aimed to move beyond promotion or grant work. 

After digging into their social media and program work, we came up with specific ideas of what we thought might make sense for our campaign. But after meeting with them and listening to their priorities, our ideas seemed out of touch – because they were.  

These are the leaders, the folks doing the work, day in and day out, working firsthand with LGBTQIA+ youth.  

How can we engage with communities in our work?  

So how do we do it? The specifics around how to engage depend greatly on the work to be done, the community, and the resources available to do it. However, there are a few things to keep in mind while doing the work:  

• Reduce barriers to participation.  
• Ensure strategies are aligned.  
• Create a culture of accountability, healing and trust and acknowledge, confront and work against power dynamics/ structures. 
• Connect authentically.  
• Be a vehicle to tell their stories for positive change.   

All these things have one thing in common: to release control. To truly engage with communities, we must release control over the outcome and listen to and let these communities lead.  

We must also connect authentically, consistently immersing ourselves in the issues and their work, not just as it serves our needs. Attending the events and coming to the table with a base knowledge of what they are all about and the power structures that oppose them are the first steps towards building the necessary relationships for community engagement.  

One of the most powerful, authentic, and successful ways we can do this in our work is through storytelling. We are storytellers who need stories. Stories about what’s going right and what may be going wrong to illustrate the issue.  

Why do we engage with communities in our work?  

“Do you understand what you intend to do and what you have the power to do?”  

-Jessica Mulcahy, MA + Emily Yu, MBA  

Yu, E. (2022). Community engagement. American Public Health Association. 

More importantly, beyond the how lies the why.  

Why is it important and valuable to prioritize marginalized communities in finding and implementing solutions to their public health issues? Because it challenges the status quo historically established against these groups’ autonomy. Because it makes the most sense and is just the right move. And frankly, its success can reverberate across governmental institutions.  

When we ask ourselves what we have the power to do when engaging with communities affected by the issues, the answer is quite powerful to imagine. When communities are trusted with their own solutions, trust is built, health equity is enhanced, and change is sustained, creating healthier communities overall.   

Recently, a campaign allowed us to meet unhoused youth at shelters statewide, asking for their experience for authentic messaging and feedback. Many of them spoke of being asked about their experiences as a step in the right direction. For some, it had been years of not feeling heard or valued by those outside of their community. Hearing their experiences firsthand provided us with knowledge that we literally wouldn’t have been able to find otherwise. And more importantly, it served as a great reminder of what is possible with this work.  

Authentic community engagement is more than just something to tack onto a campaign; it means giving those who feel voiceless the opportunity to be heard.  

Unprecedented. Postponed. Rescheduled.

When talking with youth and parents across Colorado this year, I realized that prefixes have swelled in our vocabularies as we start to bisect life into the categories of pre- and post-pandemic. 

Our communications agency —  one that is focused on issues related to behavior change and social impact — conducted phone interviews in early 2021 to hear how the pandemic was affecting relationships for youth. We asked about both their friendships with their peers and their connections to parents and other trusted adults. 

In these interviews, we heard the prefixes abound: youth and parents were overwhelmed, overburdened, under-resourced and — as a result — disconnected from others. 

Thanks to a preventative campaign focused on teen relationships, we were poised to help. 

The Forward Together campaign, an initiative launched by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) and Colorado Department of Human Services (CDHS), launched in 2020 to help young people feel more connected – to peers, parents, and other trusted adults.

The campaign takes a preventative approach to a variety of health outcomes for young people. Research shows that youth who are connected to positive relationships are less likely to smoke, drink, vape, use marijuana, or have feelings of depression. 

After hearing this year from teens and families about the relational challenges they experienced during the pandemic, we had a deepened sense of urgency and a strengthened conviction about the correlation between youth connectedness and youth health.

By investing in deeper, healthier relationships for youth today, this campaign aims to prevent negative health outcomes in the future.

Here are three things we learned in our research this year — and how we are trying to chip away at the challenges. 

1  |  Lean into the nuance

We heard that many young people lost contact with friends and peer acquaintances during the height of the pandemic in 2020. Most adults nationwide reported similar experiences. 

But our conversations revealed that this narrowing wasn’t all negative. The friendships that youth did maintain grew deeper. In fact, youth said it often takes just one positive relationship to impact a young person for the better. 

We heard from Abel, a teen who was preparing to join a gang until a mentor intervened. This mentor helped him get into boxing and, in the process, Abel found friendships that were far more genuine than what the gang offered. 

We talked to Sahara, a teen who went through a gender transition during the height of the pandemic. She was relieved that the pandemic gave her a break from her old social circles and let her start anew.  After connecting online with an LGBTQ+ youth organization, Sahara deepened a few friendships where she felt the most accepted. 

Indeed, many youth of color and LGBTQ+ youth we talked to said that at-home learning was a welcomed reprieve from feeling unaccepted at school.

We are telling these youth stories through our campaign, and normalizing these nuanced experiences in the process. 

As young people see that relationships come with their ups and downs, they are more likely to take a chance on connection — and a healthier future. 

2  |  Equip parents and mentors

During our interviews, we also learned that adults had to navigate unforeseen challenges during the pandemic — like becoming their child’s “teacher”, or fielding questions about social justice issues. For parents with fewer resources, issues like food and housing insecurity weighed heavily on them, and created stress in their families, too.

But overall, parents really stepped up to try to be there as best they could. They just needed the right support. 

Rather than preaching a list of “shoulds” to add to parents’ already lengthy to-do lists, the Forward Together campaign is providing parents with easy, specific ideas on how to deepen their relationships with teens. 

Youth who feel more connected to parents report lower levels of depressive symptoms, suicidal ideation, non-suicidal self-injury, and challenges with behavior. Youth who feel connected to parents or adults also report having higher self-esteem and more confidence maintaining a variety of hobbies and relationships in their free time.  

Ultimately, we hope to equip parents and other adults who support teens with the tools they need to engage teens — and normalize that it’s a learning process for everyone.

We share tips in a variety of formats — from both experts and real parents. We share social media content that’s digestible for parents on the go. We host Facebook Live events for a deeper dive on important topics. 

We’re tackling questions like, “How do I respond to my teen’s frustration and anger?” and “How do I help my teen navigate tough emotions?” 

We’re also telling the stories of real parents through paid media. We heard from Estevan, the mentor who helped Abel turn his life away from gang violence. We heard from Christine, Sahara’s mom, who admitted that she didn’t always get it right when it came to supporting her child through her gender transition. 

But in both cases, these adults kept trying — and that made all the difference.

3  | Progress over perfection

A theme has emerged as we have talked to and created media for both parents and youth: Growth and progress in relationships matters far more than always getting it right. 

The Forward Together campaign uses a Positive Youth Development model — an approach that sees youth as full of potential rather than overwhelmed by problems that need to be solved. It also promotes the idea that adults can make significant and positive differences in young people’s lives by focusing on enhancing the positive qualities adolescents already possess.

There is growing evidence that adding these principles in youth-serving programs can be particularly effective when working with vulnerable and underserved adolescents, including those who are part of racial/ethnic minority groups.

Through the Forward Together campaign, we champion progress over perfection for all audiences, letting parents know that their effort and presence can go a long way, and encouraging teens to keep giving friendships a chance, even through discouragement. 

The relational challenges we all experienced during the pandemic were felt in deeper and more acute ways by teens and the adults that support them — especially in rural and marginalized communities. 

By hearing their real, nuanced stories, and normalizing the learning process for everyone, we’re helping parents and teens take small steps toward connection. And those small steps might just lead to big shifts in the future.   

Originally published in SWHelper.org.

During the pandemic, many people turned to alcohol as a release valve. Indeed, drinking — including day drinking and overdrinking — became somewhat of a punchline, not to mention a social norm. Think about how many times the media recommended Zoom cocktail hours as a way to connect.

In such an alcohol-friendly environment, it’s no surprise that 60% of adults in a recent research study admitted to an increase in alcohol consumption during COVID-19. What’s more, 23% of people attribute their heightened alcohol intake to stress, according to the American Psychological Association.

With numbers like this, the only real winners are beer, wine, and liquor makers and distributors. It’s time we begin to address the overconsumption of alcohol, on a societal and personal level.

Addressing Overconsumption of Alcohol

This ramped-up alcohol intake isn’t just a short-term concern. It’s worrisome for the long haul, too, if it becomes the new normal. Overdrinking has been shown to harm people’s mental, physical, and even social well-being. When it comes to physical health, you’re probably familiar with the risk alcohol poses to the liver, but did you know that alcohol is the third leading preventable cause of cancer (behind only tobacco and obesity)?

With overdrinking, it’s a time for empathy, not shaming. This past year and a half should highlight just how easy it is to slip into unhealthy habits and how difficult it can be to regain your footing afterward. After all, increased alcohol intake wasn’t the only concern during the pandemic. Many individuals struggled with weight gain, insomnia, and screen time, just to name a few areas of concern.

Whether it’s stress eating or doomscrolling, most people are struggling with moderation in one way or another. As more normal life returns, the nation faces a once-in-a-generation liminal moment that a recent Harvard Business Review article described as “an ‘in-between’ time, when perspectives shift, old certainties are challenged, and new ideas emerge.” This moment provides an opportunity to fundamentally change behavior and social norms.

The key to helping others overcome their unhealthy habits is to approach them with empathy and support, not judgment. Certainly, alcohol use disorder is a disease that may require treatment. But can you encourage anyone you know to take stock of their relationship with alcohol and consider whether they would benefit from leveling off their drinking?

Instead of demonizing all alcohol intake — an approach that is likely to be a conversation stopper — you can encourage those who drink to rethink their behavior and attitudes around alcohol. This approach requires more careful communication and messaging, but it can start a productive discussion.

In the same way, social norms have changed regarding smoking, attitudes about drinking can also change. Subtly shifting social norms could lead to more (or less) drinking over time with huge implications for Americans’ health. However, the key is providing a supportive environment with the resources necessary to help anyone who may be struggling with the overconsumption of alcohol.

How to Encourage Healthier Habits Around Drinking

Overconsumption of alcohol can be a life-threatening problem, but that doesn’t mean that anyone should get preachy about what’s best for other people. Instead, you can help others evaluate their relationship with drinking and whether they want to adjust their habits. Here are three ways to be supportive:

1. Ask more questions.

Why are people drinking more? Is it stress? Social expectations? Boredom? There are a lot of reasons people can overindulge, but you won’t know what they are until you start asking. Don’t worry: You don’t have to get confrontational. Instead, you can ask simple questions about habits. Where do they tend to drink? How much have they had in the past week? What other ways do they address boredom or stress besides drinking? These questions can serve as prompts to help people decide the implications for themselves.

2. Make people aware of the support that’s available.

One silver lining of the pandemic has been the number of telehealth services and virtual support groups that have sprung up. Although the original goal was to help people stay healthy while adhering to quarantine and social distancing restrictions, these convenient resources are here to stay. Anyone who needs a little extra help sticking with a new habit just needs a phone or computer.

Moderation Management, for example, is an online community that offers peer accountability and support through virtual meetings and forums. There’s also Cutback Coach, an app that helps users track their drinking habits and set regular goals for themselves. Both of these options are easy to access and use, which can make a big difference for people who need help doing something hard.

3. Encourage people to consider what the experts have to say.

Federal public health experts recommend no more than one drink a day for women and two drinks a day for men. However, many scientists are now saying that one drink per day is enough.

Attempts at humor about portion size aren’t helpful. A full bottle of wine is not considered a single drink, even if you can fit it into a novelty glass. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention provides guidelines regarding what constitutes one drink. This can be a useful guide or reminder for people who might not realize that they’re drinking more than they should. That generous pour of wine or liquor or the high-alcohol IPA is not considered only one drink.

As the world moves into the post-pandemic era, it will be important to have candid, compassionate conversations about the ways people can live healthier, happier lives. When it comes to drinking, this means changing social norms to encourage moderation instead of normalizing the problem with memes about drinking too much. By working together, we can usher in a future without alcohol reliance or addiction.

Note: SAMHSA’s National Helpline 1-800-662-HELP (4357) is a free, confidential, 24/7, 365-day-a-year treatment referral and information service (in English and Spanish) for individuals and families facing mental and/or substance use disorders.

By Raya Patel 

In 2020, as concerns about the COVID-19 pandemic rippled worldwide, youth audiences turned to the digital campfire platform TikTok. Small communities with like-minded individuals cropped up around distinct subcultures (such as #cottagecore, #darkacademia, and #witchtok) and provided young people with an avenue for interaction even when they had to social distance and quarantine.

What are digital campfires? According to Sara Wilson’s article in the Harvard Business Review, they’re “closed, and often more private and interactive online spaces.” In other words, it’s a social media micro-community that offers a space of safety and belonging to the youth community, typically those between 12 and 24. Platforms such as TikTok, Roblox and Snapchat offer less interference from “authorities” and allow for a more private online experience where youth can bond over mutual interests.

It might seem like these examples fall under the definition of a mainstream site, but the key difference is who uses them and where they congregate. TikTok has over 1 billion monthly users, for example, but about 47% are under 30. And unlike Facebook, which acts more like a broadcasting medium for individuals, digital campfires cater to niche audiences and give youth a private space to use their voices and experiment with their identities.

It’s clear that the usefulness of digital campfires extends far beyond shared experiences and entertainment. But what state and local governments might not realize, however, is that these platforms offer an extraordinary avenue to reach and mobilize young constituents.

Using Digital Campfires to Spur Youth Engagement

If the past year has taught the government anything, it’s that current and future officials need young people on their side — and not just to win elections. Think about the COVID-19 vaccine rollout. There’s currently vaccine hesitancy among young populations because they feel invincible, are worried about side effects, or got spooked by confusing and contradictory online information. It’s clear the government hasn’t done enough to engage young audiences.

Traditionally, government communication has operated under a one-way or broadcast model. But research shows that when public servants have a conversation with young audiences, rather than talk at them, messages stick better. So, after failing to meet its July Fourth vaccination goal, the federal government changed tactics. Recently, Dr. Anthony Fauci appeared on TikTok with multiple influencers to promote vaccination among young populations.

That said, government officials need to proceed with caution. Young audiences want to feel as if their elected leaders understand their perspectives, but the last thing they want is to be “marketed to.” The lack of authorities on digital campfire platforms helps young audiences feel safe enough to be authentic. If officials invade their spaces, they might not listen (at best) or may abandon their digital campfires (at worst). Many youth perceive the government as overarching, which is why officials should tap young people to do outreach on their behalf. After all, youth want to hear from other youth.

Putting Youth in the Driver’s Seat

By all accounts, Dr. Fauci was able to reach millions of people on TikTok, but the White House made an even smarter move when it began building a community corps of young people to build vaccine confidence among their peers. Seeing an official talk about COVID-19 vaccines might not influence a hesitant teen, but being able to ask friends or community members about their experiences getting inoculated could personally encourage them to follow suit.

State or local agencies that want to promote their government initiatives need to put younger officials to good use. When it comes to government, many young people are more apt to listen to individuals who fall into their age groups and understand where they’re coming from.

U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is a perfect example of this. She’s been able to connect with young voters because she’s willing to get on their level. In November 2020, for example, she live-streamed herself playing “Among Us” on Twitch to an audience of 400,000 viewers. Ocasio-Cortez is a federal official, but that doesn’t mean state and local representatives can’t do something similar on a smaller scale with digital campfires to achieve their own goals. And who knows: Getting on the same campfire can appeal to their own inner youth, providing a win-win for both parties.

A Final Note

The youth audience is not a monolith, and treating them as such will put government officials in hot water. So before exploring the inner aspects of digital campfires, officials need to understand who they’re trying to reach and the specific messaging that will resonate with them. A target audience between 12 and 16 years of age is very different from an audience within the 18- to 24-year-old range. Adjust messaging accordingly.

No one knows how successful these vaccine campaigns will be, but one lesson is clear: The government needs to meet teens in the online spaces they spend most of their time. More young Americans are politically engaged than ever, and state and local governments can capitalize on this trend by using digital campfires to create safe spaces online.

Raya Patel is a youth advisor at Denver-based SE2, a collective of creatives, challengers, and change-makers on a mission to make an impact at the heart of today’s most important issues.

This article was originally published on Route Fifty, a national publication that connects state and local government leaders

The darkest days of the pandemic are hopefully behind us now that coronavirus vaccines are being distributed to millions of Americans. The long-awaited promise of protection provides much-needed hope to an exhausted public.
But we’re not yet at the finish line. While state and local governments are working to combat distrust in vaccines through education campaigns, not all concerns can be easily addressed, particularly among communities of color.
Unfortunately, decades of skepticism—largely the result of a long history of racist policies—have made people of color less likely to obtain the Covid-19 vaccine. For example, the Pew Research Center found that while 61% of white survey respondents would “definitely or probably” get vaccinated, only 42% of African Americans would.
That apprehension is understandable given the many examples of past medical abuses perpetrated against people of color. The most well-known example is the Tuskegee experiment, where for 40 years Black men were lied to about receiving medical care for syphilis while in fact, they were being observed to document the effects of the disease when left untreated. Less well-known is the story of medical abuses against Native Americans, including the sterilizations of Native women without their consent. More recently, Latina immigrants have reported medical abuse while in custody of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
After violations like these, rebuilding trust takes a lot of work. And accepting any vaccine requires trust from the recipient. That’s why state and local governments need to focus a large share of their efforts on communicating with people of color.

Three Golden Rules

When it comes to public health campaigns, it’s important to identify best practices and replicate them. Creativity is always important to making marketing campaigns stand out, but creativity has to build on a foundation of proven strategies. Being creative just for the sake of being different isn’t a formula for success. The primary focus should be on connecting with audiences in a relevant and impactful way that acknowledges language and cultural differences and respects the lived experiences of the people we’re trying to reach.
While campaigns must reflect the unique traits of the communities they serve, they also can tap into these best practices that hold true across communities:
1. Pass the mic. Give the platform to people of color to speak and connect directly to their communities. Health care providers of color can be especially trustworthy and influential, but the more people, the better. Public health and health care organizations have also highlighted people of color who are stepping up to say they’re getting the vaccine and recommending that others do as well. This sends a powerful message.
The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment is conducting a Covid-19 vaccine campaign that highlights health care providers of color discussing why they got the vaccine and how it can help the state move closer to recovery. Similar initiatives around the country are leveraging similar strategies.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and chief medical advisor to President Joe Biden, has highlighted the key role that Dr. Kizzmekia Corbett, a Black scientist, played in the development of one of the Covid-19 vaccines. Showcasing her valuable work in the National Institutes of Health’s efforts with pharmaceutical company Moderna can help alleviate the trepidation and hesitancy that many African Americans feel around getting vaccinated.
2. Acknowledge the elephant in the room. There’s no way to run from the uncomfortable truths of the past, so it’s better for state and local governments to recognize the roots of distrust among people of color and address their concerns directly. This is something the first American vaccine recipient, Sandra Lindsay, a Black nurse and the director of critical care nursing at the Long Island Jewish Medical Center, did when she explained she volunteered to “inspire people who look like me, who are skeptical in general about taking vaccines.”
3. Educate and collaborate. It’s critical to provide updated information and to make it accessible to your audience. That includes monitoring media coverage and social media for misinformation and addressing frequently mentioned issues head-on.
Accessibility also requires you to consider the mediums for outreach—for example, text messaging to reach adults in low socioeconomic conditions and call lines for seniors who may prefer talking to a live person about their questions and concerns.
Grassroots efforts to ensure vaccine access to people of color have sprung up in communities across the nation. Because many minority populations are at an elevated risk of contracting and dying from the coronavirus, partnering with the diverse nonprofits in disproportionately affected neighborhoods can help state and local governments learn the complexities around vaccination distrust and help heal old wounds. Organizations representing people of color should lead these efforts.
There is still a lot of work to be done regarding the Covid-19 vaccination, its distribution and its public perception—particularly in communities of color. Like all effective communications, success starts and ends with trust.