On Aug. 26, Meta reached a $17 billion multistate settlement as their social media platforms, including Facebook and Instagram, were found to be addictive, harmful to young people and misleading about social media risk.
According to Attorney General Letitia James, New York is intended to receive at least $819 million and up to $1.15 billion over a ten year period.
“We cannot allow social media companies to continue fueling the growing rates of low self-esteem, isolation, and depression among our youth,” James said in a statement.
According to James, initiatives that could receive some of those funds are mental health services for students, after school programs and grants for phone-free classrooms.
Although the state has not released specific plans for the money from the settlement, Brooklyn nonprofit organizers have ideas about where those dollars could go.
“As the environment in Brooklyn and New York changes, and the cost of living increases, I think the needs of the community and spaces where young people can be, and safely be, definitely have increased,” said Angela Chiappara, chief program officer at Brooklyn Community Services.
BCS, founded in 1866, currently provides daily, after-school third spaces for middle and high schoolers. They operate more than 50 programs in Brooklyn to provide opportunities and support communities.
One of the branches, Education and Youth Development, offers afterschool programs six days a week until 10 p.m. in different New York City Housing Authority community centers during the school year. The program is funded by the Department of Education, and provides food, basketball, tutoring, SAT prep and more.
Chiappara noticed a growing importance for consistent, long-term and dependable third spaces in Brooklyn, especially since the global pandemic, which led to social isolation, increased screen time, and changes in how young people may interact with their communities.
“Even though we're a few years out, I definitely think you can see some of the longer term consequences,” Chiappara said.
According to Jessica Tenzer, Division Director of Families, Communities and Workforce Development, further funding could help motivate consistent attendance through adding activities and resources the kids directly ask for. Increased funding could also help ensure a strong staff of trained mentors to support teen mental health in these spaces.
“They're the ones who are really on the ground developing relationships with the kids that keep them wanting to come in,” Tenzer said. “The kids feel part of a community and they feel welcome and they feel like they have someone to listen to."
While not directly addressing social media harm, an increase of funding towards safe third spaces are one method of protecting Brooklyn youth, filling community needs, and leveling the playing field for underserved communities, according to Tenzer.
“A lot of our kids won't go to traditional mental health services,” Tenzer said. “There's a lot of barriers. The work that we do, it's not traditional therapy, but it is therapeutic. It’s about creating a supportive, therapeutic environment for the kids to be in.”
Similarly, the need for providing no-strings-attached resources to teens is a gap other institutions, like the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) have noticed. BAM provides a ‘TeenSpace’ monthly program on select Thursdays during the school year, offering teens a place at BAM with food, music and games.
