- [Announcer] Support for Teen Weeks of Film, on KVCR, comes from The California Endowment and from viewers like you.

[silence] - Good evening, everyone.

My name is Niko Miramontes.

I am a recent graduate of Chaffey High School and I graduated as both the chief photo editor for both the newspaper and the yearbook programs on our campus.

"Is It Really Social?"

was a film that actually started when I began dating my girlfriend a little over two years ago.

I could've never fathomed the idea of having somebody have so much control over her life, and particularly the individuals or a group of individuals that she doesn't even know, the people that control social platforms.

And, it made me question myself if she's feeling this way, having these feelings of insecurities, having these feelings of doubt, how many other people are feeling this way, as well?

I know I've had my fair share of instances, but, me personally, I had never experienced such thing as on a deep of a level and I couldn't honestly ever imagined it.

Like I said, like I mentioned previously.

So, my entire idea for the film was not to solve the problem because I know not one video, one documentary is not gonna solve the issue, but to bring awareness to it, to hopefully spread the idea that it is okay to think for yourself and to make choices not based off of what other people think, or what other people might say.

So, that's pretty much it.

I wanna thank you so much again for attending, and I hope you enjoy the film.

[wind blowing] - [Niko, narrates] Wake up.

Every day we start with 24 hours; 1,440 minutes; or 86,004 seconds.

What are you going to do with it?

[dynamic music] In a world of likes, comments, shares full of "make sure you hit the subscribe" buttons, a digital place where we as human beings with the natural instinct to be validated for what we do, how we look, what we say, can express our way of living in practically any shape.

Ten years ago, we remember the place that allowed us to be just seconds away.

Actually, scratch that.

Just a tap away from our friends' lives, celebrities' lives, information, both real and fake.

Edit, filters, so many versions of what life could truly be like.

For most of us, it's sucking every single ounce of good we have in our lives, leaving the bad and the ugly as if it never existed in our lives ever.

Okay, I know that may seem like a lot, but it's human nature to want attention from others.

Right now, I'm fighting for YOUR attention.

Will you keep watching my video or scroll to see what's next?

If you zoom out, that's pretty much social media in a nutshell.

Scroll, scroll, scroll.

It's endless.

We scroll more than we eat.

We scroll more than we exercise.

And, what does scrolling really do for us?

More importantly, how much of our day does it really take up?

[digital scratches] [light music] ♪ [light thoughtful music] ♪ - [Niko] We live in a world that technically has never been easier.

Dare I even say as close together as ever before.

Yet, physically, it can feel so hard and like we're all millions of miles away from each other.

♪ We spend eight hours a day sleeping, another eight working or at school.

That leaves us with only eight left.

Of course, there's still life stuff we need to figure out, things we need to take care of, bills you have to pay, traffic, noise.

The world is full of noise.

Social media is the biggest media outlet of pure noise that we consume as human beings.

White noise.

(screen beeping) Yep, it's a norm to be a part of.

A core norm to have installed, a norm to engage.

It's not that social media is bad, rather the way it is used.

Or, should I say abused?

Spending hours day in and day out on these apps that have our brains hooked, stimulated to the point that the minute we get off, we want to get right back on or else we begin to feel awkward.

♪ - Alright.

My name's Destino Soto, 17.

Just graduated from Chaffey High School.

- Hi.

My name is Kaylen Manriquez.

I am finishing my first year here at UCSB.

- Social media has affected my life by opening new doors and experiences with others.

- An app where you're trying to just see what's going on in everyone's lives, kind of what's happening around in the world, maybe what your friends are doing.

- A lot of stuff gets trendy and it kind of pops off and everyone catches onto the wave and then no one's really authentic.

- I find myself just scrolling on it for hours and hours.

It has minimized my attention span.

'Cause by the time I'm off social media, I just realize how much time I've wasted with my life.

Just seeing later how long I was on my phone, all the things that I could've done.

- My opinion on social media as a whole, I think it's negatively affecting us, to be honest.

It consumes a lot of this generation's time and money.

- I find myself just getting really quickly into comparison.

I think it could definitely affect my mood negatively, making me feel like my life isn't as cool, or I don't have as much going on as other people.

- It's just a lot of negativity and toxicity.

It's all negative.

Just go outside, touch some grass and hang out with your friends, you know?

So, that's my take.

[upbeat music] - [Niko] Okay, so you realize it.

You realize you feel stuck, or that you actually maybe are stuck.

You find yourself making outfit choices based on how you want to look in your post.

Instead of just wearing what you think looks good or what you feel comfy in.

Feeling insecure, afraid of judgment, afraid of not being good enough.

That's okay.

I always thought if there's a way I find myself into a mess, there's definitely a way I can find myself out in some shape or form, almost never without a price or consequence, of course, but change is possible.

It just requires a little bit of hard work.

It's where true happiness can be found, in perseverance.

In this day and age, it's a constant war over each other's attention, over a cell phone, a tablet, a computer.

[bright hopeful music] No matter the level of stimulation, it is interaction that will never replace the joy of having a true in-person interconnection.

And, at the end of the day, we only get 24 hours, or really only eight.

(dominoes rattling) So, are you gonna keep watching people live their lives or take action and begin to live your own life?

Are you gonna watch somebody live in your dreams or are you gonna take action and go after your dreams yourself?

We only get a nugget of time to really grasp what we want out of our lives.

Social media, while it has every reason to be super effective in a positive manner, has only proven to be nothing but the opposite for most people.

Hijacked by the creators, wicked algorithms that our human brains have to compete with, all for money-making reasons, wrong reasons.

In our 200,000 year existence as human beings, we've never been exposed to so much information at once, so much stimulation.

It can definitely feel good while you're on it, don't get me wrong.

However, with each and every day that passes by, it makes me wonder more and more with the six years I've had social media, has it ever truly made me any more social?

♪ [staticky white noise] [staticky white noise] [click!]

- Hello, my name is Paula Enriquez.

I'm an incoming senior at Summit High School.

The name of my film is "Endurance."

"Endurance" is about how coaches affect their players physically, mentally, and emotionally.

I chose this topic because I've been able to witness firsthand how coaches can affect their players.

With my family being very sports oriented, I've been around sports my whole life.

This allows me to dig deeper into my topic.

Thank you, and I hope you enjoy my film.

[thoughtful music] ♪ ♪ ♪ [uplifting music] ♪ - Coaches have definitely impacted me by being a figure in my life and an influence, making me a better person and better player.

[uplifting music] ♪ [gentle music] - My name's James Guerrero.

I'm a varsity assistant coach at Summit High School in Fontana.

I also run a travel ball organization called JG Baseball.

I started the program in 2012.

I've been here at Summit High School for about three years.

Been coaching about 14, 15 years; working with youth ballplayers for about 20 years.

I always love to just kind of pass on knowledge, you know, even while I was playing I would work with, you know, my peers, my teammates.

We'd bounce ideas off each other, work with each other, but I always just had that desire to work with kids.

But, when I really fell in love with working with players is, like, in 2002 when I went to San Diego State.

I would help out with their youth camps, prospect camps.

Anything that they had going on, I would always volunteer my time and just kind of fell in love with just working with kids.

So, that kind of really got me into coaching.

I always knew that, you know, whenever I was done with my playing days, that I would get into coaching just because I just love working with other kids, you know?

And, just wanted to pass on my knowledge to the next generation of players.

- My name's Brent Cota.

This is my 13th year playing baseball.

I went to Mount SAC for two years out of high school and I now currently play at Cal Poly Pomona.

Throughout my life, I've had a lot of positive coaching influences.

I've been blessed with really nobody that has had a negative effect on the person I am or the player I am.

And, I've just been very blessed and they have definitely made me a better person and had a positive influence on just my life in general.

(chuckling) The one and only James Guerrero!

That man has been a great mentor and he continues to be a great mentor for the youth and the area.

And, he reaches on to other teams, he influences other teams.

There's nobody quite like him.

That's the only guy I know that will show up to a high school baseball tournament with a speaker playing music and just enjoying it, and letting the kids really play and enjoy the game and have fun while also just being a great coach.

And, showing them from his experience because he's a long time baseball fan, long time baseball player.

He played at the highest level there is, and he's just an awesome mentor.

[light music] - Culture's growing, the culture's changing with baseball players are starting to get more energetic and show emotion.

[crowd shouting] I feel baseball hasn't been that way.

When you look at the highest levels, guys are playing with more energy and more passion.

And, that's something that I-- There's a fine line between showboating and playing with passion.

I feel like growing the game and teaching these kids the difference between the two is something that I hope that I can help change and make the game more fun for all these athletes.

♪ I'm Coach Jose Enriquez.

I coach here at Summit High School.

I'm part of the varsity staff here.

I also coach with JG Baseball, which is a travel ball club here in the city of Fontana.

And, I've been coaching for about 9, 10 years.

I started coaching when I pretty much stopped playing right after high school.

I just, you know, have always kind of been fond of giving back everything that I've been taught to, everything I've been taught from all my previous coaches who were pretty knowledgeable.

You know?

All my mentors.

So, I just always wanted to kind of give back.

And, you know, when I was kind of done playing, I really wanted to, you know, pursue baseball in a different manner and see how I can benefit the game any way I can do so.

I feel all coaches affect their athletes, whether it's positive or negatively.

Me personally, I build relationships with all my players where there's a line between professional and personal.

And I feel like I as a coach, I can find a good balance between the two, which as a player I've always wanted to play for a coach that believes in me and that I know I can entrust and be there, even if it's not for baseball.

Or, if I need some help or support off the field, I know my coach will be there for me.

And, that's kind of-- As a coach, I try to be there for all my players.

I know there's coaches out there that coach players, and they're "just players" to coaches.

I don't see players as just players; I see them as players and people.

So, I feel like that's how I affect my athletes that I am around.

[light music] (crowd cheering) - [P.A.]

Your first baseman, number 10, senior Cris Enriquez.

[light music] ♪ - Hi.

My name's Cristian Enriquez.

I've been playing baseball for about 15, 16 years of my life now.

Thankfully, so far, I've had a great career.

In high school I was all-CIF, all-league MVP, division 1.

I made all-- First team all-conference tournament.

Also was a conference tournament champion this past year in 2024.

At the junior college level, I was also first team all-South Coast Conference.

(ping!)

(crowd cheering) - [Crowd] Wow!

(crowd clapping/shouting) - [Crowd] Crazy outta here!

(crowd clapping/shouting) [uplifting music] ♪ - [Crowd] Woo hoo!

(crowd clapping) - [Crowd] Woo hoo!

(crowd clapping) - [Crowd] Oooh!!

(crowd clapping/shouting) - I've played for many different coaches, both at the high school, junior college, recreational, and Division 1 level.

I played with a lot of coaches that have different philosophies, different ways they do things.

Coaches, like, they can affect that environment for players and change the way they work or change the way they go about their day and change their personality.

And, make 'em a hardworking person throughout the rest of their lives instead of just in the sport.

You know?

I think coaches do have a little wiggle room in that, like, they can affect the player's life doing those things, you know.

I think coaches can change somebody's personality in a good way and in a negative way.

- [James] 'Cause, you know, baseball's only one part of our lives, and I think there's more to baseball, or more to life than baseball.

So, you know, just trying to be a positive role model.

You know, trying to help them be better people because we know once their playing days are over, whether that's, you know, going into high school or after high school or college or pro-- The pro level?

Like, at some point, they're gonna have to step into the real world, you know?

So, just trying to impact them positively in different ways other than just baseball.

That's what I try to do as a coach and a mentor.

- I have coaches that have, you know, keep on beating me down even though, I mean, I'm struggling, you know?

And then, that's the difference between a great coach and a good-- an okay coach or a great coach.

Or a good coach is, you know, a great coach is always gonna be there by your side and they're always gonna be believing in their players.

♪ [uplifting string music] ♪ ♪ [music fades] [silence] - [Announcer] If you're a high school student wanting to join the next round of filmmakers, you can apply by downloading the Teen Weeks application form and sending it to the email provided on the website at KVCR.org/TeenWeeks [upbeat music] Support for Teen Weeks of Film, on KVCR, comes from The California Endowment and from viewers like you.