PAWNY Winter 2025 Discussion Group Series - "Online Oppression's Cost to Mental Health"

Time: 9:00 a.m. - 12:15 p.m.

Location: Virtual/Zoom

Presented by: Brian TaeHyuk Keum, PhD

Program Summary

Although oppressive content and interactions have evolved and proliferated on online platforms ever since the inception of the internet, their impact on psychosocial well-being has only been recognized and scrutinized in the recent decade. Specifically, online oppression in all its forms (e.g., online racism, heterosexism, sexism) is negatively impacting minoritized youth and young adults who encounter it via social media and other online venues. For instance, a growing body of evidence suggests that online racism is a risk factor for poor mental health and risky behavioral outcomes (e.g., substance use-related coping, suicide ideation) of minoritized youth and emerging adults. Using online racism as a major example, this presentation will provide an overview of why and how online oppression proliferates on the internet, the mental health and behavioral costs of online oppression, and implications for practice.

Presenter

Dr. Brian TaeHyuk Keum is the Bueler Family Sesquicentennial Assistant Professor (Tenure-Track) in the Department of Counseling and Developmental Psychology at the Lynch School of Education and Human Development at Boston College. He is a faculty affiliate at the Center for the Study of Racism, Social Justice, & Health and also serves on the Faculty Advisory Committee through the Asian American Studies Center, both at UCLA. He received his PhD in Counseling Psychology from the University of Maryland-College Park. He has 54 Peer-Reviewed Publications as first author with numerous book chapters, encyclopedia entries and media interviews. He has given over 100 presentations, seminars and courses to established and developing professionals. He is considered to be an identified leader in the fields of online racism, the mental health of Asian Americans, social justice, and the use of storytelling to empower youth and promote anti-racism efforts.

Instructional Level: Introductory

Target Audience: Psychologists, Social Workers, Mental Health Counselors, Marriage & Family Counselors, Creative Art Therapists, and other Mental Health professionals.

Statement of Sponsorship: NYSED CEUs are provided by the UB School of Social Work Office of Continuing Education. 3 online in-person contact hours are approved for LMSW/LCSW, LMHC, LMFT, LCAT, and PSY. Full attendance is required; no partial credit will be awarded for partial attendance.

CE Credits: 3 CE for NYS Psychologists

Program Objectives

At the conclusion of this program, participants will be able to:

1. Identify the nature and conceptualization of online oppression experiences and their distinctiveness from offline experiences.
2. List 3 ways that online racism, as an everyday stressor, may increase mental health issues and risky behavior.
3. Describe the clinical implications and emerging approaches (e.g., critical social media literacy) to counter the harms of online oppression.

Program Schedule:

8:45-9:00am: Sign-In & Registration

9:00-10:30am: Morning A: Overview of social media use and conceptualization of online oppression

10:30-10:45am: Break

10:45am-12:15pm: Morning B: Exploration of mental health and behavioral costs/Discussion of emerging clinical implications

Refund/Grievance Policies: Full refunds are available up to 7 days prior to the event, with no refunds offered after that date. If PAWNY must cancel the program for any reason, participants will be notified by email and fully refunded. Any grievances regarding this program should be submitted in writing to the Chair of the CE Committee at ceprogram@pawny.org in a timely manner.

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