Councilwoman Naya Glover leads Fayetteville webinar on teen stress and screen use

Councilwoman Naya Glover opened a webinar hosted by the Fayetteville Mental Health Advisory Board and told attendees the session would focus on teen stress, anxiety and the role of screens in young people’s lives. “The issue is not simply too much screen time,” Glover said, urging adults to look at how and why teens use screens.

Glover outlined several pathways by which digital use can worsen mental health: passive scrolling and social comparison can lower self‑esteem, constant notifications can overwhelm attention, and seeking validation online can produce emotional highs and lows. She said sleep disruption is one of the clearest connections to poorer mental health, noting that late‑night phone use and blue light can delay sleep and reduce sleep quality, which in turn increases anxiety and irritability.

Instead of strict limits, Glover recommended a strategy focused on balance and behavior change: improving sleep routines, teaching emotional awareness, encouraging healthy social connections and replacing passive screen time with meaningful activities such as sports, creative hobbies and purposeful online engagement. “Replacement in this area does not just restrict,” she said, adding that teens respond better to structure paired with alternatives.

Glover distinguished passive screen behaviors that tend to increase stress from active uses that can be beneficial, such as creating content or learning new skills. She urged parents, educators and community leaders to model healthy habits and to create nonjudgmental spaces for teens to talk about emotions, recommending practices like journaling and mindfulness as tools for emotional regulation.

On resources, Glover directed listeners to the Fayetteville Mental Health Advisory Board’s hub and named local supports including the Fayette County Public Library’s youth programs, Fayette Care Clinic, Findhelp.org, and the NAMI Georgia helpline; she also noted that 988 serves as the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline for emergencies. A board member, Miss Sophia, thanked Glover for the information before the webinar concluded. Glover said the board will keep the topic on its calendar, including events and outreach as weather permits.

The webinar emphasized practical, community‑level supports—sleep hygiene, alternatives to passive scrolling, and emotional‑skills work—rather than punitive restrictions; attendees were encouraged to consult the Fayetteville Mental Health Hub and local providers for follow‑up help.