“Practical solutions for keeping our teens safe in a changing world” is the focus of the newest film in the “Screenagers” series, and local families are invited to a free screening next Thursday at West Seattle High School (3000 California SW). In case you haven’t already seen it in our Event Calendar, here’s the announcement:

The fentanyl crisis is escalating. Kids are vaping in classrooms and school bathrooms. Dealers direct message teens on social media. And substance use among youth in West Seattle is a big issue. The Healthy Youth Survey in 2021 showed that one quarter of 12th graders at West Seattle High School used cannabis in the previous 30 days–almost 10 percentage points higher than the state average.

Parents and caregivers are looking for ways to protect their kids from substance use. But they’re up against some powerful industries that have literally copied the playbook of tobacco companies from decades ago and supercharged that strategy for our digital age. With the constant, 24-hour deluge of content pushing the normalcy of drugs, alcohol, and vaping on social media, TV, movies, ads, influencers, etc., the substance use culture has never been more appealing and accessible to teens than it is today.

Youth substance use prevention groups in West Seattle and White Center welcome parents, caregivers, and youth to watch the new documentary Screenagers Under The Influence: Vaping, Drugs, and Alcohol in the Digital Age. The screening is free and will take place at the West Seattle High School auditorium on February 29, 6:30 – 8:00 PM. Register at tinyurl.com/ScreenagersWSHS.

Screenagers Under The Influence is the third feature documentary in the Screenagers trilogy from award-winning Seattle-based filmmaker Delaney Ruston, MD. Trained at Stanford Medical School, Delaney has split her time over the past two decades creating documentaries and providing primary care. She has spent the past 11 years intensely researching the impact of screen time on youth and solutions for screen time balance.

She grounds her latest film in teens’ current reality of being flooded by images on social media, movies, and TV shows about vaping, drugs, and alcohol. Like the first two Screenagers films, Screenagers Under The Influence interweaves cutting-edge science with personal stories to create an informative and entertaining film experience for young people and adults alike. The documentary focuses on practical solutions for keeping our teens safe in a changing world.

The February 29 screening at West Seattle High School is hosted by:

–Westside HEY Coalition, a community group focused on youth substance use prevention in the Madison Middle School and West Seattle High School attendance zone;

–SW Seattle Youth Alliance, which is working to prevent youth substance use in the Denny International Middle School and Chief Sealth International High School attendance zone;

–Coalition for Drug-Free Youth, which works to keep youth off of substances in the White Center and North Highline areas;

–West Seattle High School PTSA