Summer is almost here as area schools begin letting out. To kick things off, we're launching a new season of WYSO Youth Radio. We’ll hear stories from students across Dayton, Springfield, and beyond.
Teenagers want their voices heard, especially about issues that they see in their communities. A teen-led group called BATS, or Bringing Awareness to Students, in Clark County, visited WYSO in February to create public service announcements (PSAs). Today, we will hear from BATS members Addie and Freddy Powell. Addie and Freddy are siblings, and it is their second year participating in WYSO Youth Radio. First, we'll listen to the Powell PSA, and then we'll hear them discuss cell phones and sleep.
WYSO Youth Radio is produced for the ear and designed to be heard, not read. We strongly encourage you to listen to the audio by clicking on the blue "LISTEN" button above, which includes emotion and emphasis not on the page.
[Twinkling sounds]
Freddy Powell: And the winner of our million-dollar raffle is...
[Loud alarm clock blaring] beep beep beep beep
Addie Powell: Do not wake up on a cliffhanger. Be sure to get enough sleep. Visit the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion website to find out how much sleep you need and the benefits of being fully rested.
Freddy Powell: What inspired you to do this PSA?
Addie Powell: I love to sleep. I am a sleeper, so I don't think sleep deprivation affects me. But when I don't get enough sleep, it's always the day that I have a dream. And not being able to finish the dream, or it's something really calming, or something I've been looking forward to, then having that cut off, and I'm just in a bad mood for the rest of the day. Not being able to have that closure, I guess, of my sleep. That's what inspired me to do this PSA.
Freddy: I know myself, I don't get enough sleep as much as I should, and I know pretty much all my friends don't nearly get enough, and it affects us at school.
Kids who are sleep deprived, you can tell they're sleep deprived because they're like mopey kind of, and they just aren't very interactive, and don't talk with people, they're just there.
Addie: Instead of getting sleep, what are you doing?
Freddy: Watching TV or on my phone.
When I'm on my phone at night, I normally go to YouTube or Instagram and just watch videos, or I would talk to my friends.
Addie: About how many hours of sleep do you think you get per night?
Freddy: I get probably about six, five hours of sleep each night.
My PSA is about people not doing well at school because they're too tired or in bad moods because they didn't get enough rest.
Addie: Like I said, if I wake up on the wrong note or I finished my dream and it just ended on a weird note, then my entire day is thrown off. But I think when I do get that full eight hours of sleep that I need each night, then I'm much more productive throughout my day. And I think that other people my age need to do that and realize that.
Special thanks to Beth Dixon from WellSpring 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.
