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The Audio and Video Production (AV) students at Lake Highlands High School (LHHS) are creating and launching a strategic distracted driving social media campaign that implements a positive community norming (PCN) framework.
By using a PCN model the AV students are able to focus on the positive beliefs and behaviors of drivers and passengers, instead of focusing on the negative and risky behaviors. Students are able to harness the power of perception to cultivate better driving and riding habits among the broader community.
Car crashes are the main cause of death for young people in America. 75% of these incidents do not involve drugs or alcohol. The majority of fatal teen crashes involve distracted and reckless driving.
This year, the students have committed themselves to fighting this epidemic by competing in the Create Real Impact Contest, hosted by the national nonprofit Impact Teen Drivers (ITD). The vision of ITD is to change the culture to one that is distraction-free. ITD works with those of all backgrounds and ages to disseminate evidence-based tools and programming to empower good decision-making in the car.
The LHHS Distracted Driving Social Media Campaign is an opportunity for teachers or advisors to engage student leaders in the creation of empowerment strategies and solutions that address reckless and distracted driving. Student leaders develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills by conducting research and building strategic communications, as well as advancing their technical and creative writing skills.
Students created original content that they shared with peers, parents, and the community across multiple media platforms including Twitter, Tiktok, and Lake Highlands Advocate Magazine.
LHHS’s theme this year is “Save it for the Movies”. The students are launching their campaign this month. Last year LHHS took first place and earned $10,000 that went towards their AV program.
Winners of the contest will be selected by a panel of qualified judges based on the campaign’s concept and creativity, the execution of the campaign, and the effectiveness of the message. The winning campaigns will be announced in May.
