Past Webinar | June 8, 2023
Nancy Jo Sales, an award-winning journalist, bestselling author, and documentary filmmaker, joins us to address the intersection of teens and online dating, the effects of social media on young people’s relationships, and more.
These days, social media is how students are social, and it’s no surprise that students turn to social media to make connections and build relationships. According to Pew Research Center, 24% of teens who have dated met their significant other online. And while social media is a great place to make connections, students can also face challenges like catfishing, social pressures, and privacy concerns. What do educators need to know about online dating to equip students with the skills to navigate it safely and in high-character ways? In this interactive webinar, we explore:
- How to guide teens to stay safe in the era of digital connections
- Ways social media has impacted teen’s perspectives of dating culture and healthy relationships
- The uphill trend of young adults using dating apps and its root causes
- How educators can equip their students with the skills to develop healthy relationships as they navigate their social worlds
Nancy Jo Sales is an award-winning journalist, bestselling author, and documentary filmmaker, known for her insightful and thought-provoking reporting and writing on youth culture, celebrity culture, technology, and women’s issues.
Sales began her career as a journalist in the early 1990s, working for New York Magazine, Harper’s Bazaar, Vanity Fair, and other publications. Sales’ 2016 nonfiction book, American Girls: Social Media and the Secret Lives of Teenagers, delves into the lives of teenage girls across America and the pressures they face in the digital age, focusing on issues such as cyberbullying, online harassment, misogyny, and sexualization.
In 2015, Sales gained recognition for her Vanity Fair article entitled “Tinder and the Dawn of the ‘Dating Apocalypse,'” which explores the influence of dating apps on modern courtship. The article went viral and sparked a national conversation about the effects of technology on dating and intimate relationships.
In addition to her writing, Sales is a director and producer of documentary films. In 2018, HBO released her documentary, Swiped: Hooking Up in the Digital Age, which explores the impact of mobile dating on contemporary dating culture, focusing on dating app addiction, the dehumanization of romance, and the potential dangers of online dating.
A regular contributor to The Guardian and Vanity Fair, Sales remains an influential voice on subjects related to youth culture, technology, gender dynamics, and gender inequality. She continues to write and explore the ever-evolving landscape of digital culture, offering insights into the challenges and complexities of living in a hyper-connected world.