Amid the aftermath of the political violence over the weekend, a Maryland nonprofit focused on history and art in the community, is hosting a two-day summit focused on media literacy and mental health.

Maryland Humanities, is bringing together academics, members of the media and mental health experts to discuss how people can consume news better and in a more healthful manner.

“Panelists will discuss fact checking, internal bias and critical thinking skills,” said Maryland Humanities CEO Lindsey Baker, “Maryland Humanities has really been on a trajectory to expand the idea of what humanities are, and how we can utilize humanities to talk about ourselves and our communities.”

The summit will be held online on July 16 and in-person in Mitchellville on July 17.

The summit comes at a time when political tensions are high after the attempted shooting on former president Donald Trump last Saturday and concerns about President Joe Biden’s acuity in office.

“I'm a mom with young kids, and I'm constantly thinking about how are they going to interact with social media,” Baker said. “How are they going to interact with the news, with platforms where they're communicating with friends, all of these things. This is something that I think applies to people of all ages.”

U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy has been calling for a warning label for social media platforms since the beginning of the summer due to concerns about detriments to mental health.

“Adolescents who spend more than three hours a day on social media face double the risk of anxiety and depression symptoms, and the average daily use in this age group, as of the summer of 2023, was 4.8 hours,” Murthy wrote in a June opinion piece in The New York Times.

Baker said the summit will be a productive dialogue for grappling with all kinds of media and how it impacts health.