BY JEFF CHUDZINSKINorth Country This Week

CANTON -- March 1 has come and gone but "Five Hour Free Friday," a movement to disconnect individuals from social media for five hours has had a resounding impact.

County legislators acknowledged the effort during the full board meeting on March 4.

The event was championed by the Teen Ambassadors of the St. Lawrence County Youth Committee with support from Youth as Solutions with the National Youth Leadership Council and took place from 4-9 p.m. on March 1.

Legislator Harry Smithers was complimentary of the coalition of students who organized and promoted the event, saying the students who came together from multiple school districts did a great job of raising awareness.

"This tends to be a problem, spending a lot of time on social media, not just for younger people but for some older people too who like to spend time on social media," Smithers said.

Numbers have not been compiled yet but Legislator Nicole Terminelli told legislators that a follow-up survey was available so the group could gauge the effectiveness of the initiative.

"We're hoping to make it an annual event," she said.

According to the Journal of American Medication Association Pediatrics, teens spend more than eight hours per day on their phones.

That trend of excessive social media use has been linked to depression, anxiety, attention deficit and sleep deprivation, officials say.

Nearly half of adolescents between the ages of 13 to 17 say social media makes them feel worse about themselves and 64% of the same group are "often" of "sometimes" exposed to hate-based content, according to a study conducted by the U.S. Surgeon General Advisory on Social Media and Youth Mental Health.

Officials are encouraging all St. Lawrence County residents to take time away from social media platforms in support of a "social media detox" in support of the message that the overuse of social media can cause emotional and physical stress.