As 2025 comes to a close, we want to take a moment to reflect on the stories, insights, and conversations that were shared on the Teen Connect Tampa Bay blog this year. Throughout the year, the blog served as a space dedicated to uplifting teen voices, sharing accurate health information, and raising awareness about topics that directly impact teens and young adults in our community.  Our posts this year touched on themes that are important to young people today. Topics such as mental...

The holidays are known to most as the brightest time of the year. The streets light up, decorations go up, and there is a visible joy in the atmosphere that surrounds us. It’s that time of year when families gather around for a warm meal, toss the football out in the cool, crisp, autumn breeze, and make memories that last a lifetime. For many, because of this, the holidays truly seem like joyous and wonderful times.   But how about a reality that is completely different from what was just...

It’s 2 a.m.  I should be asleep. In about six and a half hours, I’ll be sitting in my pre-calculus class, preparing for a summative exam that makes up a big chunk of my grade. But here I am, lying in bed since 8 p.m., hoping for a good night’s sleep. Then, in a fatal turn of events, I reach for my phone. After just a few clicks, I’m scrolling through Instagram. What follows is a deep dive into what Gen Z calls the doom-scroll —a period of complete focus on nothing but the endless stream of...