Location: Colony High School Auditorium

– LIKE achieves the impossible: actually getting kids and teens to put down their phones for a few minutes. On December 9, Burchell and Colony High Schools will hold a special screening of the documentary to open up a dialogue between local families, community leaders and experts. The event will feature a viewing of the film, followed by an informative panel discussion, led by Shelli Lincoln, Principal of Burchell High School and Aleah Hall, Mental and Behavioral Health Coordinator, with special guests from around the Valley.

Please RSVP: https://forms.gle/1TkBZwWjB1q48uq29.

“It is our hope that this will be the first of many outreach opportunities from education to the community. Our educators are burning out and overwhelmed and need help in addressing the myriad of issues facing our youth and families,” said Lincoln.

This take-action, the inspiring film is the 2nd installment in the award-winning iNDIEFLIX Mental Health Trilogy, created to entertain, engage and enlighten about issues surrounding mental health. Before Covid, 2 billion smartphone owners were checking their phones, on average, 150 times a day, and the enforced isolation and mandated screen time of the past year has only increased this figure. Research continues to confirm that having your head down, staring at the screen, chasing “likes” and seeking “followers” is the perfect recipe for low self-esteem, isolation, and depression, as well as loss of focus and patience.

The filmmakers of LIKE inspires kids and teens to consider a life of JOMO (joy of missing out) as opposed to FOMO. They use their proven 4 E formula: entertainment, empathy, enlightenment, and a heavy dose of empowerment, arming their audiences with easy-to-execute strategies to change their habits that very same day. Research and data is plentiful: happiness surges when we have digital balance, not overload; when we give ourselves time to look at actual trees, animals, and all things nature, as well as interact – however we can – with other humans.

Here is a link to the film trailer. See the attached press release for more information, or contact Shelli Lincoln, Burchell High School Principal, at 907-864-2600, or via email at michella.lincoln@matsuk12.us.