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"I have a lot of friends that don't do sports, that just kind of go home every day and just relax," Springfield, Ohio High School rising Junior Emerson Babian said. "That's something that kind of worries me, because if you're not really paying attention to it, especially as a kid, it can really set you on a path."
So Babian decided to do something about it. Working with a local teen advocacy group called BATS — Bringing Awareness to Students in Clark County, Ohio — he came to WYSO in February to create a public service announcement (PSA) encouraging young people to swap screen time for movement. His message: just 30 minutes of daily exercise can improve sleep, mood, and brain function.
The PSA is part of a broader conversation about youth wellness in southwest Ohio, where mental health concerns among teenagers mirror national trends. Through WYSO Youth Radio, students are tackling these challenges in their own voices.
Here's Babian's PSA and his reflection on why he chose this topic.
Make your future self proud, get moving now. Did you know that the average person spends 2 hours and 43 minutes on social media every day? But did you also know that if you spent just one-fifth of that time exercising every day, then you could improve your sleep, mood, and energy levels and reduce your blood pressure and the risk of cognitive decline. For those who don't know, that means brain power. That means that just riding your bike around your neighborhood every day, you could improve your quality of life in at least five different ways. There's no excuse not to let loose. Make your future self proud. Get moving now.Emerson Babian
Emerson Babian: For my project, I chose basically a reminder to get the correct amount of exercise every day, every week.
It's pretty important to me because it's so easy to do, but also easy to forget about. It's really important to do it because it can help you in so many ways.
It can help your neurological abilities, slow your cognitive decline, and improve your physical and mental abilities. It's just really important.
So it kind of stuck out to me as something that gets overlooked a lot because people think that it just happens naturally. It's something that you have to pay attention to and go out and do. You've got to get the right amount of exercise.
It's different for everybody's situation, because I have a lot of friends who play sports, and when they're playing those sports, they get the right amount of exercise. But I also have a lot of friends who don't do sports, who go home every day and just relax, and that's something that kind of worries me, because if you're not paying attention to it, especially as a kid, it can set you on a path where you just... The older you get, the less you think to yourself, 'I'm gonna take a walk, or I'm going to play soccer with my friends.'
Some of the barriers that stop a lot of kids from doing it are the idea that you can only play a sport or do something at your high school if you're good at it. And that's certainly not the case.
I also think that high schools make it seem that way with tryouts and ways that make kids think that they have to be really good soccer players to practice every day or try out for the soccer team.
They say the more trees you see every day, the healthier you are. I think a lot of kids don't get that fresh air because they... you're in school, and then you go home, and there are those two settings.
Even just going on a walk every day. Even if you're not running, if you are not playing a sport. Just going on a walk to the stoplight and back is getting the fresh air, looking around, and noticing things. It's not about demanding exercise. It's more about just moving, getting a feel.
Cell phones are definitely a barrier, especially for a lot of teenagers, because you get so enclosed by them, because they have so many reasons to stay on your cell phone.
You have your social media, you have all of your messages, you have all these entertainment apps that make it really easy just to get soaked in. The average person watches social media, uses their phone for two hours and 43 minutes every day. And if you spend one-fifth of that time, just about 30 minutes, taking a walk, riding a bike, playing your favorite sport every day, then that could really help you in a ton of different ways, more than... looking, scrolling down on your TikTok, or watching YouTube for two and a half hours.
This is Babian's second year participating in WYSO Youth Radio. You can click here to hear his PSA from last year.
Special thanks to Beth Dixon with the Mental Health Recovery Board of Clark, Greene & Madison Counties and Cuyahoga County poet laureate Honey Bell-Bey for working with us on this project. WYSO Youth Radio is produced at the Eichelberger Center for Community Voices at WYSO. WYSO Youth Radio is made possible by supporters like you, the Ohio Arts Council, and the Virginia W. Kettering Foundation.
