Medicine’s Eileen Anderson highlights face-to-face activities as key to rebuilding teen social skills

From pandemic to purpose: How a high school senior is helping Cleveland teens build connections

Signal Cleveland: Eileen Anderson, the Anne Templeton Zimmerman MD Professor at the School of Medicine, said that weak ties help adolescents expand social networks and practice interacting with unfamiliar people, skills pandemic-era youth may have missed. She also says social media encourages highly curated self-presentation, while meaningful face-to-face activities can rebuild communication, teamwork and confidence.