By Tyler Dahlgren

“You swipe past it, but does that swipe the feeling away?”

In the second episode of The Mind Inside, the filmmakers from I Love Public Schools take viewers on an eye-opening trip down the digital highway present-day students travel along every day.

The 30-minute episode examines the inescapable pressures that come with living in a digital world, where an image is created, maintained, and often manipulated. Students talk candidly of the unavoidable stress to be perfect that’s placed on their shoulders from the moment they create their first Instagram account.

They share their stories with vulnerability. As a viewer, you can feel it. Their experiences are shared. And what we learn throughout the episode, as Director Sally Nellson Barrett guides the subjects through honest conversations that can be extremely difficult to have, is that perspective, an extension of self-worth, can be lost, or even worse, warped.

The film focuses on cyber bullying and carefully handles the delicate topic of teenage suicide. Students share a glimpse into what life is like for a young person in 2019. For older viewers, it’s an exploration into a world that didn’t exist 30, 20 or even 10 years ago.

For younger viewers, the episode provides a chance to connect. Students share experiences on-screen, and their willingness to do so will undoubtedly influence those who see the film to do the same.

Ralston Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Mark Adler shares the powerful story of his son Reid, who took his own life in January, 2016 at the age of 15 after an embarrassing photo led to months of online intimidation. Those heartbreaking events led to the #BeKind movement, which has swept schools across the metro and throughout the state.

Director of School Counseling Stacy Athow, with teachers Beth McGrath, Cammie Weland and Jason Jackson, revisit the morning after the tragedy. Their accounts are moving, heart-wrenching, and illustrate the importance of awareness when it comes to cyber bullying.

“I think from that moment on, I always wanted to create an environment where my students will always know I love them,” Weland says in the film.

Each professional interviewed by Nellson Barrett shared, with an unbelievable openness, a mindful outlook on an ever-evolving topic. The students featured in the film do the same, with genuineness.

For 30 minutes, I Love Public Schools takes us into a young person's world, a place far more complex now than it was then.

It’s an imperative perspective to gain.

To watch The Mind Inside: Episode Two, Click Here!