Melania Trump’s New ‘BE BEST’ Campaign For Kids Will Address Well-Being, Social Media Use, And Opioid Abuse

Melania Trump has made an announcement regarding a new campaign, which is called “BE BEST.” It is a campaign aimed at children, to teach them about well-being, social media use, and opioid abuse, reported the Daily Caller. The goal of the campaign is to teach kids how to be “happy and productive adults who contribute positively to society and to their global communities.”

Some people believe that the entire campaign is a “direct rebuke” to her husband, including Slate, which also wondered if the three components of the campaign really go together. Others question the name of the campaign, which has been criticized to be poorly worded.

“Social media can both positively and negatively affect our children. But too often, it is used when negative ways,” Melania said during her speech. President Trump, who was in the front row as she delivered her speech, has been accused of using Twitter to belittle others. The White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders has denied that Trump has “fostered a climate where cyberbullying exists,” according to CNN.

And indeed, Melania’s been known to have a strong stance against cyberbullying, which has been met with intense criticism by those who believe that President Trump is a cyberbully.

Although Melania made the announcement today, she will not be accepting any interview requests and did not accept questions either.

Recently, Bloomberg said that smartphones and social media can “steal” childhood. Instead of growing up with some sense of privacy, many children are now growing up under the intense scrutiny of a large number of friends and casual acquaintances. Often, social media prioritizes physical appearance over other traits, which can lead to self-image and self-esteem issues.

Not only are there issues with actual social media use, the rise in technology has led parents to believe it’s less safe for their kids to be outside, and so more children are spending time indoors in front of screens than ever before. Moreover, it’s difficult to accurately track a child’s web activity.

I am very excited to kick-off #BeBest – a campaign dedicated to helping children #BeBest in their individual paths. For more information please visit our webpage at https://t.co/S3FrTpLwDJ ??

— Melania Trump 45 Archived (@FLOTUS45) May 7, 2018

Additionally, although opioid abuse is usually an adult problem, teaching children about it early on is a good idea. The U.S. opioid crisis has reached an alarming state, with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services estimating approximately 11.5 million people in the country misused opioids in 2016.

There were 17,087 deaths “attributed to overdosing on commonly prescribed opioids,” and an estimated 19,413 deaths due to synthetic opioids other than methadone. Another 15,469 deaths were due to heroin overdoses. That’s 116 people a day that died of opioid-related abuse.

Many of the deaths are attributed to legitimate doctor’s prescriptions, where the patient becomes addicted to the opioids, which are highly addictive. For some people, the addiction leads them to abusing cheaper opioids, like heroin.