Welcome to Project PRISM, a parenting program that aims to strengthen parent and teen communication and to provide tips and strategies for talking with your teens about social media and substance use. Our goal is that parents utilize the Project PRISM website as a starting point to learn more about social media and substance use and as a guide when having conversations with their teens about these topics. Ultimately, we hope that participating in Project PRISM will give parents the information, tips, and strategies they need to use when talking to their teens and will lead to more productive and enjoyable conversations.
The modules you are about to view are based on the best information available to help parents talk with teens about these topics. Project PRISM was developed by Dr. Dana Litt and Dr. Melissa Lewis at the University of Texas at Arlington - School of Social Work with the input of other parents and teens just like you!
These modules are meant to help guide conversations. As such, we want to stress how important it is that conversations are ongoing! The tips and strategies in these modules could serve as a starting point for conversations for you to have with your teen. Even if you have already had some of these conversations with your teen, science shows that having multiple conversations over time is still important. You also may choose to have conversations before, during, or after any social media or substance use concerns arise in your family.
Learn about facts and myths related to communicating with your teen. Find new tips and strategies to effectively initiate and continue conversations with them.
Gain insight into the important role of social influence on teen decision-making.
Learn about specific tips and strategies related to talking with your teens about their social media use.
Explore the importance of teaching your teens social media literacy and gain tips and strategies on teaching and practicing these skills.
Learn more about the impact of alcohol content your teen may view or share on social media on their behavior and read tips and strategies for approaching these topics with your teen.
This module covers other concerns (drug use, sexual behavior, mental health, and cyberbullying) that parents may also want to discuss with their teens.
We hope that you have found Project PRISM informative and helpful. It is our belief (and science backs it up!) that parents are still the most important influence on their teen’s decision-making, so our goal is to equip with you the knowledge, tips, and strategies to having successful conversations, both in general and specific to social media and health risk behaviors including alcohol use. We hope that the tips and strategies in this parenting program are useful for navigating other conversations that may come up in daily life with your teens. The more you have open conversations about everything, the easier some of the harder ones will get.
Remember that these modules and their contents are just a start. Please feel free to revisit Project PRISM and any specific modules as needed or as certain conversations come up with your teen.