In late January, the Oak Knoll community welcomed one of Canada’s top 100 most powerful women, Bailey Parnell, to talk with Upper School students about the use of social media and its effects on young people. Parnell is the founder of SafeSocialMedia Co. and the CEO of SkillsCamp, which aims to teach the youth of our society how to safely use and consume their social media. When speaking about the consumption of social media, she urged students to be aware of how they spend their time on their phones, as social media can be a useful tool, but only if it is used with caution. Having a critical eye and doing proper research were among some of the suggestions Parnell gave regarding the consumption of social media. This presentation resonated well with the Oak Knoll student body, as the majority of students have reported that they have been both positively and negatively affected by social media. Parnell’s Safe Social program aims to help people navigate the risks of social media, and educates students on the importance of using social media in effective and positive ways. When speaking to the Oak Knoll community, Parnell put an emphasis on how social media impacts our mental health, and how we can practice showing love on social media, rather than hate. The upper school students thoroughly enjoyed Bailey’s visit, as our perspectives of social media broadened, and our knowledge of societal impacts of our phones expanded.