"No civil discourse, no cooperation; misinformation, mistruth." These were the words of former Facebook Vice President Chamath Palihapitiya who publicly expressed his regret in a 2017 interview over his role in co-creating Facebook. Palihapitiya shared that social media is ripping apart the social fabric of society and he also sounded the alarm regarding social media’s unavoidable global impact. He is only one of social media’s countless critics. The more disturbing issue resides in the empirical evidence supporting such notions. At least 95% of adolescents own a smartphone and spend an average time of two to four hours a day on social media. Moreover, 91% of 16-24-year-olds use social media, yet youth rate Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter as the worst social media platforms. However, the social, clinical, and neurodevelopment ramifications of using social media regularly are only beginning to emerge in research. Early research findings show that social media platforms trigger anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, and other negative mental health effects. These negative mental health symptoms are commonly reported by individuals from of 18-25-years old, a unique period of human development known as emerging adulthood. Although emerging adulthood is characterized by identity exploration, unbounded optimism, and freedom from most responsibilities, it also serves as a high-risk period for the onset of most psychological disorders. Despite social media’s adverse impacts, it retains its utility as it facilitates identity exploration and virtual socialization for emerging adults. Investigating the “user-centered” design and neuroscience underlying social media platforms can help reveal, and potentially mitigate, the onset of negative mental health consequences among emerging adults. Effectively deconstructing the Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram (i.e., hereafter referred to as “The Big Three”) will require an extensive analysis into common features across platforms. A few examples of these design features include: like and reaction counters, perpetual news feeds, and omnipresent banners and notifications surrounding the user’s viewport. Such social media features are inherently designed to stimulate specific neurotransmitters and hormones such as dopamine, serotonin, and cortisol. Identifying such predacious social media features that unknowingly manipulate and highjack emerging adults’ brain chemistry will serve as a first step in mitigating the negative mental health effects of today’s social media platforms. A second concrete step will involve altering or eliminating said features by creating a social media platform that supports and even enhances mental well-being.

This creative project is assembled in screenplay format, providing the blueprint for a feature film. The research consisted of reading numerous screenplays, breaking down movies scene by scene, and undergoing a rigorous revision process with Thesis Director Professor Greg Bernstein. The logline of Changing Tides is: After discovering a gold-filled shipwreck, five Floridian middle schoolers head out to claim their treasure when they learn that the largest hurricane ever recorded is heading their way.

As educational tactics circulate globally, so too does the prospect of understanding sustainability amongst informed individuals and what it means for our society. Just in the past few decades, the environmental movement has changed the way in which people think about their own impact upon the planet. It is becoming a facet of common knowledge for society to realize the potential detriment of their actions, and for this, we should be grateful. However, there is much work to be done regarding all aspects of sustainability and environmental crises. This paper offers a look into the world of sustainable sunscreen usage, something that is not often thought about as an aspect of sustainable consideration. The task of this research opportunity was to examine a sample of survey respondents and connect their responses from 15 questions to different hypotheses. Alongside the discussion of sunscreen filters damaging sensitive ocean ecosystems, this research also looks into the overall importance of sunscreen for one’s health and the ways in which it can be used safely. My hope is that readers will realize the value of using sunscreen on a daily basis and become better informed of sustainability challenges and healthcare disparities.