(light music) - [Michelle] Tonight: teens, social media, and tragedy.

- It's like still I can't believe it.

I feel like it's not real.

- [Michelle] Then, how the Trump administration is impacting Rhode Island's immigrant community.

- The rules are changing and nobody knows what the rules are anymore.

- [Michelle] And why Rhode Island officials are rallying for Medicaid with Ted Nesi.

(bright music) - Good evening, welcome to "Rhode Island PBS Weekly."

I'm Pamela Watts.

- And I'm Michelle San Miguel.

We begin with a story about young people and social media.

- Teenagers often spend more than five hours a day online.

For many, it can be habit-forming, which may just be what the creators of these platforms are looking for.

Tonight, producer Isabella Jibilian explores how technology that is designed to be addictive can have tragic consequences for kids and teens.

This story was generously underwritten by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Rhode Island.

And a word of warning.

Some of the issues discussed in this story may be disturbing to some viewers.

- So big.

Oh, and his grandfather.

He got to wear a Super Bowl ring.

- [Isabella] Owen Zimmer grew up in Warwick and East Greenwich.

He was a shy kid with a passion for football and technology.

- He was great at gaming.

He and my dad built his gaming computer together.

- [Isabella] His mother, Amanda Zimmer, said technology helped him to connect socially.

But in 2021, his computer skills got him into trouble.

- We got a call from the school principal, his father and I did, and saying that we needed to come down to the school right away, that there was an issue.

- [Isabella] Zimmer says Owen and his friends had shut down his school's server.

Owen alone took the blame and was charged with 14 felonies.

- He became very depressed and just anxious.

He didn't want to be seen or, you know, he thought that everyone at school, between teachers and administration and other kids, like hated him.

- [Isabella] He quit the football team and instead spent hours a day playing video games and using social media.

- He pretty much spent the next year in his room.

- [Isabella] Zimmer worried about her son isolating and the number of hours he was online.

It's a concern for many parents today.

- You have platforms that have been constructed to maximize how much time young people spend on them.

- [Isabella] In his 2023 advisory, then surgeon general, Vivek Murthy, warned that the way social media is designed to engage could come at the cost of kids' mental health.

- In almost every conversation we have with young people about mental health, they bring up social media.

- This activity is called What's Going On in This Photo?

- [Isabella] So we went to Woonsocket to see what high school students think.

Do you think social media is helpful or harmful to kids' mental health.

- I feel like social media is helpful.

If you're going through depression and you don't like to talk about it, I feel like going on social media and listening to music or watching inspirational videos can help you overcome it.

- I can be with my friends and them just be staring at their phone and social media.

And then I'm just sitting there like, "I want to talk.

We barely see each other.

Like, get off the phone."

- On the positive side, you're able to connect with family, friends, and other people.

But on the negative side of it is that it can really affect your mental health.

I experienced cyberbullying a lot.

But now, like I don't really care about it, to be honest, 'cause I am who I am.

And people just think what they wanna think.

- [Isabella] Different kids, different experiences.

It's the subject of study for clinical psychologist Jacqueline Nesi.

- Social media encompasses a lotta different platforms.

It encompasses within a given platform, a lot of different behaviors and experiences.

And of course, some of those things are gonna be helpful and some of those things are gonna be harmful.

- What design elements do you find have a particular impact on the way kids use them?

- One thing that's important to understand about social media platforms is that everything that occurs on a social media platform is by design, right?

Like every button, the defaults when we first open it up, the first thing we see, nothing's really happening by accident.

(computer keys clicking) - [Isabella] Nesi's collaborator, clinical psychologist Anastacia Kudinova, says that kids already feeling down offline can face a domino effect online.

- They might be then more likely to spend more time paying attention to content that is consistent with their current emotional state.

And then, unfortunately, many platforms use the algorithms that tends to feed similar content based on what you have just viewed.

So in that scenario, they might be stuck in a loop of unhelpful thoughts, kind of on a downward spiral.

- [Isabella] Amanda Zimmer saw her son struggle emotionally for about a year after getting in trouble.

But when she started him at a new school, things seemed to get better.

- And it was just like, oh my gosh, like you know, I see like, you know, this brightness and this shine and this enthusiasm in my child again.

- [Isabella] She planned a trip to Boston for the two of them so that she could introduce him to a favorite band.

- We had the best time.

Before he went to bed, he said, "Mom," he's like, "Do you think we could get tickets for the summer?"

He's like, "I know they'll be expensive and stuff."

I'm like, "Don't worry about it, we'll figure it out.

We'll definitely go."

And I brought him to his dad's house the next afternoon.

He went to school Friday.

- [Isabella] And that evening, he took his own life.

He was 17 years old.

- It's like still I can't believe it.

I feel like it's not real.

Like I just can't imagine not seeing him again.

Like we just went to the concert.

How is he gone?

(computer keys clicking) - [Isabella] After his death, Zimmer began searching his social media accounts, looking for an explanation.

She found that he had entered a dark world online.

He followed influencers with anti-Semitic, racist, and pro-suicide content.

And on Discord, he had been messaging with two strangers for months who encouraged suicide.

- I never in, it's like, my kid's like smart.

My kid's not gonna talk to some stranger online.

Like, that would never be my kid, like.

And it was.

- In the years since Owen's death, reports have found that rings of predators regularly use platforms like Roblox, Minecraft, and Discord to groom and exploit children, often soliciting sexual content and urging them to harm themselves or others.

How many other cases of suicides have you seen among families you've talked to and represented?

- Hundreds.

I feel like I know each one of those kids.

- [Isabella] Matthew Bergman is the founder of the Social Media Victims Law Center.

- We represent now over 4,000 parents around the country and are at the forefront of the battle to hold social media companies accountable.

- [Isabella] They are representing the Zimmers in a class action suit against multiple social media companies.

Bergman started the firm after Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen testified to Congress.

- Facebook knows that its amplification algorithms, things like engagement-based ranking on Instagram, can lead children from very innocuous topics all the way from just something innocent like healthy recipes to anorexia-promoting content over a very short period of time.

- Kids don't go online seeking malign content.

They go online seeking material that is interesting to them.

But based on the design of these algorithms that are steering kids toward material that not that they wanna see, but what they can't look away from.

- [Isabella] Have you ever seen something on social media that you wish you hadn't seen?

- I have Twitter, but I don't go on it as much.

But like the thing is, like, when I first open the app, it's just gore.

- [Isabella] When you say gore, you mean like violent- - Mm hmm.

- And like bloody images?

Is that what you mean?

- Yeah.

Mm hmm.

- Some guy, you know, himself and it was like very publicly out there, and then- - Like sexual images?

- No, like- - Or like harming himself?

- Harming himself.

- Lately, I've been on Instagram Reels and just, I can see people harming themself or somebody getting harmed.

I wouldn't want my own sibling seeing that.

- A lotta that content has been pretty, you know, readily accessible on these platforms.

I know some platforms have taken steps to try to limit that, but it really hasn't always been effective.

- [Isabella] But does viewing this content translate to real-life risks?

Suicide is complex and caused by many factors.

Nesi researched what social media behaviors were associated with suicide risk in real life.

She found that the amount of time kids spend on platforms didn't have a strong link, but for vulnerable kids, certain experiences did.

- That included viewing suicide-related content.

Being the victim of cyberbullying was also a factor that increased risk for suicide.

- [Isabella] In light of these concerns about safety, social media CEOs were asked to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee last year.

- Safety is built into everything we do.

It's essential to our mission and our business.

- We have around 40,000 people overall working on safety and security, and we've invested more than $20 billion in this since 2016, including around $5 billion in the last year alone.

- In Rhode Island, the state, City of Providence, and multiple school districts have filed suits against social media companies for harming kids.

And across the country, a flurry of new bills and laws have aimed at regulating kids' social media use.

And at home, families are looking to protect their kids online.

What recommendations do you have for parents?

- Parents need to carefully monitor what their kids are doing online.

At the same time, you have to also encourage kids to be open about what they're doing online.

- [Isabella] Nesi writes a popular parenting newsletter called "Techno Sapiens" with advice.

- The first thing I would say is that I think it's really important for parents to look at outside of these technologies, what is going on in a child's life?

And then, I mean, the other thing I would say to parents, talk about it often (laughing) with their kids.

It sounds like very simple advice, but come in, ask a lot of questions, and really listen and trying to kind of flip this from it's me, the parent, against you, the child, and more like me, the parent, and you, the child, together against the draw of some of these technologies.

- If you or someone you love is feeling suicidal, please reach out for help.

You are not alone.

You can call or text 988.

The Suicide and Crisis Lifeline is available 24/7.

Up next: Rhode Island's largest immigration nonprofit says it may need to cut 1/3 of its staff amid federal funding changes from President Trump.

Kathy Cloutier is the head of Dorcas International, which serves roughly 6,000 immigrants and refugees in the Ocean State each year.

She recently sat down with our contributor Steph Machado to talk about what's happening on the ground under the new administration.

- President Trump promised mass deportations of immigrants when he was running for office.

He's now been in office for a little less than two months.

What are you seeing so far on the ground?

- Well, we're not necessarily seeing any mass deportations.

We are seeing a lot of fear.

We're seeing a lot of immigrants, even those who are here legally, even those who have legal status, are just fearful of, "What does that mean?

What does that mean for me?"

Again, we're seeing where humanitarian parolees are having their status ended.

Temporary status for Haitians and the Venezuelans have been stopped or the extensions have been revoked.

So we're seeing the stop work order for the refugees, where the travel for refugees was stopped immediately.

So all of these changes are creating uncertainty.

So folks really don't know what it means for them individually.

We're not necessarily seeing, in Rhode Island, we're not seeing large raids.

We are seeing an ICE presence, but it's generally for an individual or folks who already had a deportation order.

We are seeing a lot of folks coming in for consultations to find out what their current status means for their future here and trying to find out from a legal perspective what they should be doing.

- When you say your clients are coming in and they're asking about their status, like, are these people who have, whether it's a green card or some other, a visa, some permission to be here, who are concerned that it might be taken away?

- They are, exactly.

And it's because, as I said, there's situations that are changing rapidly.

As I said, someone had Temporary Protected Status, they thought they were under this Temporary Protected Status for, say, for instance, two years or 18 months.

All of a sudden, that's been shortened.

They don't understand what that means for them and what relief they might have.

Can they apply for asylum still?

Can they, you know, what does that mean for their particular situation?

I was speaking to someone who has a green card.

They're here a legal permanent resident.

A green card means you're here permanently, legally.

And they married a US citizen.

Because they married a US citizen, they thought, "Oh, I'll naturalize.

I'll become a US citizen myself."

And so in doing that, they completed the paperwork, submitted the application, and for whatever reason, something was flagged, and now they have a court date, an immigration court date for a hearing on deportation.

- So even people who are doing everything correctly, these are not unauthorized immigrants, they have the paperwork that they need, they have a green card, and now they could face potential deportation?

- The rules are changing and nobody knows what the rules are anymore.

Now it just feels as if people are being looked at more carefully or with more scrutiny.

- Something that the Trump administration did early on was they revoked the, you know, so-called safe spaces, schools, hospitals, churches.

These used to be places where ICE did not go to get people who they wanted to, who they had a, you know, detention order on.

So what does that mean in practical terms that those places are no longer sort of a sanctuary for people?

- So far we haven't seen that happen.

We haven't seen ICE show up in these places.

Not to say that they won't.

- Are you seeing people who are maybe afraid to send their kids to school or afraid to go to the doctor because they know that they could be found there?

- Yes, we are.

Schools are reporting that attendance is down, and we're afraid that it's because parents are afraid to send their kids to school.

The assumption being that folks are not going to the doctor or the hospitals because of that.

We're encouraging everyone to send their kids to school, to go to the doctor, go to the hospital.

Again, we're not seeing ICE showing up at these locations.

Again, I think what we're seeing is the administration creating fear by saying they're gonna do this, but they're not actually doing it.

- So it sounds like you're not seeing mass deportations yet.

You're not seeing ICE at schools.

So the rhetoric that's coming from Washington is not necessarily matching what you're seeing on the ground?

- Correct.

- [Steph] On January 24th, the Trump administration issued a stop work order for federally-funded refugee resettlement programs like Dorcas, which uses the roughly $1 million a year to help refugees for their first 90 days in the country.

Rhode Island had 65 newly-arrived refugees who were affected when the funding stopped.

- They were from Central America.

They were from the Democratic Republic of Congo.

They were from Afghanistan.

Several other countries as well.

And so they had come in the months of December and January.

One family had come as late as January 24th.

They had arrived that day.

We had picked them up from the airport.

Now, what happens in that first 90 days is that's when we provide them with all of their basic needs, their housing.

They're assigned a case manager who assists them with cultural orientation, with supporting them, enrolling them in English classes, getting the children enrolled in school, all of that kind of resettlement work that happens.

By ceasing and desisting, by stopping all of the funding that goes with that, there are no longer funds for the staff.

And there are no funds for the refugees themselves, for their basic needs.

So there's no rent money.

There's no food money.

There's no money for them to support them in those first three months.

So that was what was disconcerting.

It was one thing not to have new refugees coming in.

It was another thing to say, "Wait a minute, you just, we've promised these folks this three months worth of assistance and you've just stopped it without any warning and without any reason, frankly."

- [Steph] Kathy Cloutier says another million and a half dollars from the federal government is frozen from a program that helps vulnerable refugees after the initial 90 days if they still need help finding work and becoming self-sufficient.

- We haven't been paid for that work since December, since before the new administration came in.

And there's no explanation that we've received in terms of why we haven't been paid.

That's putting a significant strain on us financially.

- And are you gonna have to do layoffs?

- Absolutely, absolutely.

We've already had to start some layoffs as a result of the stop work order of the reception and placement program.

With no new refugees coming in, there are parts of our services that we're not continuing, obviously.

So we've gone down from about 105 employees to about 92 right now.

So we've lost about 13 folks.

If we were to lose all of our government funding, we'd be down to about 62 employees.

- Shouldn't your funding have been unfrozen when various judges issued injunctions?

- It should have been but it's not.

And that's the frustration is, and that's frankly where my anger is coming from.

It's like, wait a second, this shouldn't be happening.

This is just a way of putting us out of business.

'Cause if you make us wait long enough, we're not gonna be able to pay our bills.

So you know, who can wait longer, the federal government or a nonprofit organization?

- What is the effect on the immigrants and refugees who you normally help if you cannot provide those services to them?

- So what will happen is the barriers just get even more difficult, right?

It's difficult enough for a newcomer to be successful here with the supports available, with the wraparound, the English language, the interpreting, the employment supports.

If those aren't available to folks, it will take longer or it will be less, folks will be less able to be successful here and be able to give back.

If you look at our history, our country's been built on the backs of immigrants and refugees.

- Kathy Cloutier, thank you so much for your time.

- Thank you very much, Steph.

I appreciate you having me.

- I appreciate it.

- And you can hear an extended version of this conversation on the "Rhode Island Report" podcast at globe.com/rhodeisland.

Finally, on tonight's episode of "Weekly Insight," Michelle and our contributor WPRI 12's politics editor, Ted Nesi, explain why Rhode Island's congressional delegation is worried about the future of Medicaid.

- Ted, welcome back.

I wanted to talk with you about the uncertainty that's occurring right now with Medicaid, not only here in Rhode Island, but also at the national level.

I think when folks think about Medicaid, they think of a program that helps low-income individuals.

And it certainly does, but it also helps many other groups of people.

- Yes, pregnant women and their children are often on Medicaid, especially in Rhode Island.

People on disabilities sometimes receive Medicaid services.

Senior citizens in nursing homes.

So lots of different groups, but it is targeted at people with lower incomes.

It also often gets confused with Medicare, which is the program for senior citizens.

Important for people to remember too that those two programs are run differently.

So Medicare is fully a federal program, all run at the federal level.

Medicaid is run jointly by the feds and the states, and the states actually do the day-to-day management of the program.

- And Medicaid was expanded back in 2010 under the Affordable Care Act.

I don't know if people realize just how big the program has become in Rhode Island.

- Yes, I was looking at the governor's budget bill proposed for next year, and Michelle, the Medicaid budget is expected to total nearly $5 billion in Rhode Island next year.

- Wow.

- Put that in perspective, that's over 1/3 of the entire state budget is now just the Medicaid program.

- And more than $3 billion of that total that you just mentioned for Medicaid is slated to come from the federal government, which brings us to what's happening in the news.

Republican leaders in Congress are currently working on a massive spending bill that would fund tax cuts, immigration enforcement, and other priorities of President Trump's administration.

And one way to fund that bill is to make cuts to Medicaid.

- Yes, and it does get a little arcane, Michelle, the congressional procedure going on here.

But basically, the House committee that oversees health programs has been tasked with finding $880 billion in spending cuts to help fund the bill you're talking about.

And there just appears to be no way to do that without significant reductions to Medicaid.

Because President Trump has repeatedly taken off the table cuts to Medicare or Social Security, other big programs that they could've looked at.

And state leaders around are saying, if there's any significant decrease in how much the federal government provides for Medicaid, there's no way they could make up for that at the state level.

- We should point out, we don't know if Congress ultimately will make cuts to Medicaid, and if they do, just how severe those cuts will be.

- Yes, there's so much in flux right now, Michelle.

The House and the Senate in Washington are at odds over how that spending bill should look, what should be in it.

And also politically, people need to remember that Medicaid serves red states as well as blue states.

And that's why you're seeing some moderate Republicans express concern about the scale of potential Medicaid cuts we're talking about here, because it would hit their districts as well.

And so that's part of why it's very unclear where this is going to go.

President Trump too is a bit of a wildcard.

He's at times suggested he didn't want cuts to Medicaid.

Other times, sounded like he's onboard with the House's plan.

So I think it could be months, frankly, before we know, really know where this is all going.

- And ultimately, both parties could be hurt by these cuts if it does happen?

- Absolutely and that's- - That's what you're saying?

- That's what makes the politics of it so interesting and hard to predict.

- [Michelle] Always good to see you.

Thank you, Ted.

- Good to be here.

- That's our broadcast this evening.

Thank you for joining us.

I'm Michelle San Miguel.

- And I'm Pamela Watts.

We'll be back next week with another edition of "Rhode Island PBS Weekly."

Until then, please follow us on Facebook and YouTube, and you can visit online to see all of our stories and past episodes at ripbs.org/weekly.

Or listen to our podcast on your favorite streaming platform.

Goodnight.

(bright music)