“The year and a half that I did not have my phone, I was happier than I ever was,” Stone said during the Youth Forum at Iowa Central Community College on Saturday.

The forum is sponsored by the Youth Empowerment Association and Iowa Central’s diversity committee. About 25 people attended.

Stone said there’s a difference between chatting with someone online rather than face-to-face.

“When you interact with people your brain releases dopamine into your brain that makes you happy,” Stone said.

-Messenger photo by Hans Madsen
Quinn Lachelt, 16, a junior at Manson Northwest High School talks during the Youth Empowerment Associtation Youth Forum Saturday at Iowa Central Community College.

Stone expressed worry about the negative effects of smartphone and social media usage among his peers.

“We need social interaction,” Stone said. “What social media does is give a false sense of social interaction. A small amount of dopamine is released, but while you’re waiting for someone to text back that vanishes. It’s like a false sense of happiness. The year and a half without a phone, I was actually interacting.”

Stone said he currently uses a smart phone. And people will often ask why he doesn’t put the phone down now.

He admits that it’s because he likes the apps and everything that a smartphone provides.

“I like Snapchat and it’s fun,” Stone said. “But we should have limits.”

-Messenger photo by Hans Madsen
Annamuria Valentine, 11, of Fort Dodge, listens in the audience during the Youth Empowerment Association Youth Forum at Iowa Central Community College.

Meanwhile, Roswell Brown, a 20-year-old student at Iowa Central Community College, said smartphones are just a part of modern human existence.

But he said the devices need to be used responsibly.

“A phone is something we need in this world today,” he said. “If you abuse it, you will be disappointed by it in the future. We tend to cling onto things. I am on it for a lot of the time throughout the day, but I thrive in human interaction.”

It’s an area he said both students and adults can improve on.

“It’s something we have to accept and improve on,” he said. “It’s not evil but can be used for evil things.”

Brown added, “If you look at it, the parents are also addicted to social media and their phones. If everyone is doing it, why would kids be any different?”

Jed Tracy, 17, a senior at St. Edmond Catholic School, reported Instagram as the most popular social media platform among people his age.

Although he said those trends can change all the time.

Tracy said there needs to be an understanding that nothing on social media is 100% safe.

But he said there are settings that can help a person keep their information more private.

At the same time, Stone said he’s surprised at how transparent some students are when it comes to sharing their lives on social media.

Stone said one student in particular shared videos of himself using drugs on social media.

He said vaping and drug abuse are of concern at MNW.

Students from both Fort Dodge Senior High and St. Edmond Catholic School also said vaping was popular among students.

Quinn Lachelt, 16, a junior at MNW, said his perception is that smoking marijuana has become more prevalent than drinking alcohol.

Moderator Amy Simpson asked if there’s anything teachers and parents can do to help students who become addicted to drugs or alcohol.

Thade Lachelt, 15, a freshman, said, “Be repetitive and constructive. Telling them once isn’t enough.”

Thade Lachelt said students don’t ask for help because they’re scared of the repercussions.

“Kids who come in and tell teachers they have a problem with drugs, they get punished instead of help,” he said. “Kids are more afraid of getting punished, so they don’t get helped.”