Announcer: Welcome to Business like 360 with Kristi K, where we get to know thought leaders and innovators, trends and impact in the world of business and we see firsthand how business and life have evolved.

Business Life 360 with Kristi K is made possible by Promedica, a locally owned, nationally recognized, not for profit health care network that has a strong commitment to clinical excellence, providing safe, high quality patient care, and addressing social issues that impact health.

John B and Lillian E Neff, College of Business and Innovation at the University of Toledo Developing lifelong leaders for the world of business and by KeyBank, also by viewers like you.

Thank you.

Kristi K: Welcome to Business Life.

360.

I'm your host, Christy Kaye.

On this episode, we're discussing the impact of social media on our youth today and what needs to be done to make changes for a healthier generation.

One of our nation's leading Generation Z Voices joins us, and we're discussing the impact of social media in business and corporate America.

We're also talking with Kelly Bouvier, Ohio's own highly successful and talented singer.

As her star rises in the recording industry.

So kick back, relax, and come along with me.

This is Business Life 3060.

Welcome back to Business Live 360 m a lemke is joining us today.

She is a 20 year old youth digital advocate at Washington University in Saint Louis working to address social media impact on younger generations.

As a senior in high school, Lemke founded the Log Off Movement, a youth movement dedicated to uplifting and empowering youth to tackle the complexities of social media and its impact on their privacy, safety and mental health.

As a youth led movement, log Off provides an often overlooked and critical perspective on social media, and we're going to learn a lot more about that from Emma Lemke.

Ella, it's so great to have you here on Business Life, 360.

Thanks for joining us.

Emma Lembke: Thank you so much for having me on.

Kristi K: So tell us a little bit more about what got you started in terms of advocacy for social media.

Emma Lembke: So my entry point into advocacy related to social media and digital wellbeing, privacy and security all stems back to my own personal experience.

I got social media in the sixth grade, starting with Instagram and making my way through the ranks of platforms from Twitter to Snapchat and to eventually Tik Tok.

And when I first entered these apps, I was one of the last in my friend groups to actually be on.

And I remember seeing each one of my friends around me slowly retract from the moment, looked down at their phones and no longer connect with me in person.

So seeing that around me, I instantly thought, okay, there has to be something incredibly magnetic and magical about these apps that are pulling my friends and my time and attention away from me and towards their phones.

So I begged and begged and eventually got the the parents to cave.

And I was given permission to get Instagram.

And when I first got on, I felt that magic.

I felt that allure.

I was following people from Kim Kardashian to Olive Garden to all of my friends from middle school.

And it felt like the world was at my fingertips.

But that feeling was transient.

It lasted maybe a month.

And what I was left with after having followed so many individual was curating my feed posting consistently was just a mirage.

I was left with the reality that social media isn't magic.

It truly is an illusion, one that is carefully predicated on capturing your attention at the cost of a young person's well-being and privacy and security.

So for me, as a young female, I was quantifying my worth through likes and comments and followers.

I was being fed harmful content related to body image and eating patterns that led me in the direction towards disordered eating.

I was consistently passively scrolling, scrolling mindlessly for hours and feeling incredibly guilty, not knowing how to detach and not knowing what was happening to me.

And all of these things were really worsening my mental health and my quality of life.

And eventually, after multiple years of doing this, scrolling, mindlessly feeling passive in my own life and passive and all my experience, I had a breaking point where I heard the buzz of notification and had the following response to grab for my phone.

And between that buzz and the response, I finally broke and I asked, What is happening?

How am I, as a young person, values so much control, Allowing these platforms and these apps to really control me?

And how is this being done and how can I protect myself?

So I detached and of course logged off for a few months and really reflected on my own screentime usage.

How did I benefit from the online world?

Where did I really feel like I was harmed?

And I did the research.

I looked at everything from are algorithms, you know, how are they at play?

How do they work?

Is social media bad?

And in all of the research, what I kept finding was more and more material both individuals investigating social media's impact on young people, both the positive benefits and the negative externalities.

But there was always a missing piece.

The young people themselves.

Kristi K: I love that.

That you're really getting them involved.

So knowing that you're not alone and the fact that you're stepping out, being a voice for generation Z is really, really important.

So how do you see some of those talking points when you're presenting, in fact, to the Senate Judiciary Committee and some of those things?

What are some of the talking points and some of the goals that you have to really make an impact?

Emma Lembke: One, it's that to fix this issue, to better understand how to protect kids online, we need to understand the issue all of its complexities, all of the ways it benefits young people, all the ways young people are harmed.

And what that means is providing a seat at the table for young people to not just participate as passive onlookers, but active agents of change.

And the second thing is young people really need to become empathic.

They need to be empowered because I think we provide a very nuanced take with social media.

Because if you ask any member of Gen Z, you know, the genie is out of the bottle, we are not going to go back to a world where social media didn't exist, nor should we.

But we need to really think critically at the individual and the societal level about how we want to spend our time with each other and where social media comes into the picture to amplify our connected, expressive and exploratory benefits, but also how we can really work together then to mitigate its harms and to roll back a lot of the unforeseen and detrimental aspects of living in an unregulated digital environment.

Do you have such a thing as a recommendation for what is healthy in terms of the amount of time that, let's say, teenagers or 20 somethings or any of us for that matter, spend on social media, on our phones, perhaps gaming?

Emma Lembke: I always say that what is healthy for one person can look very differently for another, and specifically when it comes to screen time.

For instance, for me, I had to unplug for about two months and be off my platforms Instagram, Snapchat to then feel like I could reenter in a healthy way for others.

I know some people who have to fully unplug who don't want to reenter.

I think at the basis of building and determining what your healthy screen time usage looks like is reflection and awareness with all things to be able to address an issue, you need to be aware of the issue.

In the beginning.

Kristi K: When you're in business life.

360 We do something that is called Quick Hits, which is a series of rapid fire questions where we ask you a little bit more detail about some things that we are interested in about you.

Are you ready?

Emma Lembke: Absolutely.

Kristi K: Okay, here we go.

What is your favorite social media platform?

Instagram your have of choice Embroidering.

The last person you followed on social media.

Emma Lembke: Jonathan Heit.

Kristi K: Your first pet.

Emma Lembke: My pets.

Sparky.

My cat.

Kristi K: The kind of music you like most.

Emma Lembke: I adore folk and bluegrass music.

I'm from Alabama, so it's in my in my veins.

Kristi K: Your leadership characteristic that you choose to emulate most empathetic listening.

The city where you were born.

Emma Lembke: Birmingham, Alabama.

Kristi K: The most important issue facing kids health today.

Emma Lembke: Social media's impact on youth mental health and well-being.

Kristi K: And one mark that you would love to leave on your generation.

Emma Lembke: The understanding that social media does not have to define you.

You can define it and use it to chart a better path for you, your family, and beyond.

Kristi K: And the Lemke co founder of the Love Life movement.

Thank you so much for being the voice that we all need in this world to allow our youth and all of us to no longer be an afterthought.

Thanks, Ava.

Emma Lembke: Thank you for having me on.

Kristi K: And now let's head out on location to discuss the business of social media.

Dr. Jenn Stephens, it's great to be here with you today.

Thank you for having me.

Absolutely.

So here we are.

We're on campus.

We're talking about social media.

You're a digital marketing expert and you've spent a lot of time doing research on social media.

Are you seeing a lot of implications of the negativity of social media here on this college campus?

Jenn Stephens: It is.

So when we think about our college students, currently they're Gen Z, we also refer to them as digital natives.

And I often think that with that comes the acceptance that everyone in that generation loves social media and accepts it as it is.

But I'm hearing a lot from students of the negative impacts and how they want to use it more responsibly.

Kristi K: So much of your work gen has been tied to business and social media and corporate responsibility.

So we talk a lot about negative implications of social media on our teenagers and our gen years, but clearly social media is helping our businesses, our corporate clients and customers to thrive.

So how do we look at that?

How do we sort of embrace social media for what it is?

Jenn Stephens: I always love to talk about the power of social media.

For companies, it's an extra tool that they can use to reach customers.

Marketing is all about creating and maintaining these long term relationships.

And there's, I think, no better way right now than digital marketing and social media because it allows more one on one connection between our customers and businesses.

Kristi K: And particularly for small businesses and entrepreneurs.

I know you do a lot with that here at the university in terms of your coursework and teaching them how to market.

You are marketing professor as well.

So how do you teach corporate entrepreneurs to really use social media to their advantage?

Jenn Stephens: Right.

Specifically for small businesses, social media is a great cost effective way to market.

It's not free, as we often think of in terms of social media, but it makes it easier for small businesses to compete against some of our corporate companies.

Kristi K: And something else that is really a hot button now is privacy, as it ties to social media and our corporations, but also as individuals as we make purchases online.

What are companies doing today to really protect the consumer's privacy and what should they be doing more of?

Jenn Stephens: I think that there has been a move in terms of transparency for customers, understand how they're being targeted and advertised online.

I do think that we could do a better job moving forward with education of how this information is actually used.

Kristi K: And when we look at corporate responsible party and what is that piece of the pie that lands at the corporation level?

What do you think that is?

What are those spaces and what are those things that need to happen in terms of corporate responsibility that aren't currently happening?

Jenn Stephens: A lot of what we have right now is self-regulation when it comes to these companies.

There's very few federal laws that protect us as consumers when it comes to data privacy.

And so with the self regulation tying with that education, I was talking about letting customers know how to find where their data is being kept, where it's stored, how it is used.

Kristi K: Where is our data being stored?

That's the million dollar question, right?

Jenn Stephens: It is.

One of the things that I love to tell people about is anytime you see an online ad in the right top hand corner of that ad, there is a sideways triangle.

Click on that and see why I am seeing this ad and I'll show you why that ad is specifically being shown to you as a customer.

Kristi K: Oh, that is so interesting.

I did not know that.

So if I click on that, does that mean I'm going to get ten more of them?

Same?

Jenn Stephens: Absolutely not.

And it actually allows you, if you never want to see that ad again, to click on that as well.

Kristi K: And, you know, we talk all the time, as we said earlier, about teens and the negative implications of the unhealthiness of social media on teens on the next generation of Gen ZERS.

However, when we're talking about corporations, they really want those clicks.

They really want that to happen.

So it's sort of like the converse of that.

So how do we find that happy medium where businesses can thrive?

Entrepreneurs can get those clicks and those products sold online, but yet also our teens, our consumers, our Gen Zers are still being healthy.

Jenn Stephens: I think that it comes down to thinking about who the target is for advertisers, as we have for years in traditional advertising and traditional marketing and making sure that we're really specifically targeting adults and not trying to bring kids into the picture.

Kristi K: And I know our previous guest, Emma Lemke, mentioned that the genie is out of the bottle when it comes to social media.

So how do we use it to our advantage going forward?

Jenn Stephens: I think lots of conversations are happening and that is great to hear from all generations.

But moving forward, I think just keeping this top of mind and not letting it become a trend that we once talked about and we kind of accept it.

A lot of times we choose convenience over our privacy, and I think the more that we talk about it, we can start to shift these conversations.

Kristi K: When we're having conversations, let's say we're in the car, we're talking about a certain product and all of a sudden the next thing you know, you look at your phone and an ad for that product pops up.

Is that really a thing?

Is that coincidence or what's happening there?

Jenn Stephens: There's a lot going on here.

A lot of people think that our phones are listening to us.

These larger corporations and platforms categorically say, no, they are not listening to you for advertising purposes.

Oftentimes what happens is we see 4 to 10000 ads a day.

How many of those do we actually remember?

But now that our friend has brought it up, we're primed to see that ad, right?

We recognize it, but it's also based on proximity.

If our friend has been searching for this product, if they have purchased it recently, our phones are close to each other now.

It's picking up on what our friends have been looking at, and we're more likely to see it as well.

Kristi K: So all in all then, Jenn, do you feel that social media is a positive thing for corporations and businesses if used responsibly?

Jenn Stephens: If used responsibly?

Absolutely.

I think that it has the power to create positive societal change, but also help businesses to connect with customers and brand new ways.

Kristi K: And sell their products.

Jenn Stephens: And sell their products.

Kristi K: Well, thank you so much for your research and for your expertise on social media today.

It's been a pleasure being with you.

Jenn Stephens: Absolutely.

Thank you.

Kristi K: Thank you.

Joining me now on Business Life, 360 is Caly Bevier, who was born and raised in Toledo, Ohio, after fighting stage three ovarian cancer at 15, Carly packed up her things to chase her dreams and start a new music journey in Los Angeles.

Today, she's a recording artist and she strives to include messages of being unapologetically herself in her music so our listeners can feel comfortable in their own skin and feel less alone in whatever they're going through.

Being influenced by a myriad of genres, Kelly loves to blend all sorts of sounds into her songs.

So we welcome to Businesslive.

36 Kelly BEVER.

Kelly, thanks for joining us.

Sure.

Thank you so much for having me.

It's so good to be back here in Toledo and with you.

Thank you.

Love having you.

You know, you're one of my favorite people.

Caly Bevier: I love you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Kristi K: So, listen, I want to talk to you about how you started in this career and this field of music.

How did you realize and at what age were you when you said, this is my thing?

This is really what I want to spend my life doing?

Caly Bevier: Yeah, it was such a weird, like a journey to get where I am now.

I never really thought that I was going to be in the music industry my whole life.

I grew up, I was singing and I was just having a good time singing in the shower, singing around the house, you know, entertaining my friends, even.

But not until I actually went through that life changing experience of having cancer.

Did I really choose to decide, like what I really wanted to do with my life and realized that, like, I did feel comfortable up on stage and that I did want to share my message through something that is bigger than me, which was which ended up being music.

So I think by the time I turned about, you know, about 18, 19, when I was already in the industry writing more music and then growing up and also finding myself was I like, this is definitely what I want to do for as long as I can sustain it.

Your talent is unbelievable, Kristi K: Your voice.

Every time I hear a new song of yours, an old song of yours, I just get goose bumps.

Kristi K: I mean, you are so talented at what you do.

Thank you.

Know, when you shifted from the state of Ohio to Los Angeles.

Tell us about that transition and how you adapted, if you will, to the recording industry.

Caly Bevier: Yeah, it was definitely a huge change.

I mean, I went from, as I said, just like entertaining my friends, singing in the car to then being thrown into a studio session where, you know, my first manager, he sent me like a list of vocabulary that I'm going to have to learn and know and use in the studio.

So it was like a big learning curve and also realizing that you really have to fight for yourself, you know, like there's no there's not many people who are going to help you because once you're out in Los Angeles, everyone's doing the same thing.

Everyone's really doing everything they can to really win at whatever their goal is, you know?

So it really pushed this new sense of like determination and grit in my own sense of self and kind of found new sides of myself with all of that.

So I think of, of course, you're going to Los Angeles is Los Angeles, Ohio is Ohio.

You know, very different places.

But I think overall, it just gave me a new sense of like just, yeah, determination.

Kristi K: You know, you have been such an advocate for girls through the years.

I know you and I have done girl leadership summits together, which is just incredible because you represent the best of the best in terms of a role model for girls.

Caly Bevier: Yeah.

I think it's so important for young girls definitely today when there's so many things to look at, so many places to be influenced by, to, you know, have someone who actually has a good message to give.

You know, there's so many there's so many artists and there's so many esthetics these days, you know.

But I think when you actually find someone who has a message, not only myself, but like all these people at the empowerment group, like that's so important for girls to listen to and just be like, I can do that, you know, So, you know, and you bring that message into your songs too, when you write them.

Kristi K: I know you said to me earlier that in 2020 it really taught you how to write music on your own even more deeply.

Yes.

How is it that you write your lyrics and your songs?

Tell us a little bit more about the process and I know you really do bring some of that, that heartfelt voice and emotion into your music.

Caly Bevier: Yeah, I think when I first started writing music, when I was first in Los Angeles back in 2017, a lot of my songwriting was around like my whole cancer journey and just trying to be extremely uplifting and positive, which of course that's great.

But as I started to grow up and like, realize it's the realities of life, I was like, okay, like I'm going to center right about my reality and be vulnerable.

But overall, the writing process normally will start with either me singing something like acapella, just coming up with like a melody and then bringing that.

It's it makes it harder for the producers because then we have to like find the chords or we will start with a track.

The producers I work with, they'll start a track and then we start doing kind of like melodies over it where it's kind of you don't really say the lyrics right away, so you can kind of be like, better than that.

But that, you know, just like little things.

And then you fill in the words wherever that whatever would sound good in that melody.

So, so many different ways to write a song.

Kristi K: There's really not a right way to write a song.

I would say one of the songs I love that you've recently written is called Prescription, and I'd love to hear more about how you came to write those lyrics.

I mean, it's just it's just a great, beautiful song.

Thank you.

Yeah, that song, actually, it's I personally love the story for this song because it wasn't going to start as anything that I was planning on releasing.

It was actually me and my husband.

We were just doing a little exercise.

We were like, What if we come up with what if we pull up like a random word generator online?

And so the word that was generated was prescription.

And then it just he started like this cool guitar like chord thing.

And then we just we came up with the song and the lyrics just kind of started spilling out.

And it's pretty much just about the person that you're with, making you feel better than what your prescription medication might make you feel, which is totally, you know, exaggerated.

I like to say keep taking your prescribed medications, but so that's how that song came to be.

I really just came from an exercise and I really like telling people like I was never a natural songwriter from the beginning.

So if you ever want to try something new, like just, just you have to put practice and work into it and you'll finally get to that point that you want to be.

I truly believe that.

Kristi K: And you have done that.

You have just gone deeper into your music, into your sound, and into how you write and record.

Tell us about your influences.

Caly Bevier: Yeah, I know you have many and I know you also got married in 2020, so I'll bet your husband has something to do with it.

Oh, just as well for like, for songwriting influences, it's definitely, you know, I pull from my relationship, but I also am inspired just by, like, the smallest things in life.

Like, I'll tell people, like, I'll walk by a dumpster and they'll be like a flowers growing behind it, and I'll be inspired by that.

So it's really like it's really just looking for the small things in life.

But then musically and sonically, I would say my biggest inspirations are probably like Paramore.

Hayley Williams, Halsey I was just listening to the new Olivia Rodrigo album in the car.

I was I was thinking of the answer to this question.

I'm not going to lie.

I knew it was coming.

And yeah, I like a lot of like pop punk type of music.

I was raised on very like, alternative stuff, like The Killers, so I really like that realm.

But overall, I like to sit in the pop circle.

Kristi K: He was so talented and we're so thankful that you're here with us today and so grateful.

Thank you so much.

Always great to have Carly here on the set of Business Life.

Three Sexy Carly, we're thrilled to have you.

Your talent, your beautiful soul right here with us.

We wish you continued good health, happiness and success.

Social media, as we've learned, is a double edged sword, with a clear need for voices of Generation Z to be heard when it comes to legislation, corporate responsibility and healthy outcomes.

And of course, it's always great to get insight from Carly Bouvier on the recording industry and to celebrate her victories in life.

That's a wrap on this episode of Business Life 360.

Join us next time to learn more about the exciting innovation, leadership and trends occurring right here in our region.

I'm Kristie Kay, and I'll see you on the next Business Life 360.

Announcer: Connect with Kristie Kay on LinkedIn at Kristie Kay Hoffman.

And here the business Life360 conversation on FM 91 on Thursday mornings to watch previous episodes and more, visit our website at W Dawgs B 360 and join Kristy for her new podcast, Business Life After Hours Business Life 360 with Kristi Kay is made possible by Promedica, a locally owned, nationally recognized not for profit health care network, then has a strong commitment to clinical excellence providing safe, high quality patient care and addressing social issues that impact health.

John B and Lillian E Neff, College of Business and Innovation at the University of Toledo.

Developing lifelong Leaders for the World of Business and by KeyBank, also by viewers like you.

Thank you.