SOCIAL MEDIA
Engagement with social media has become a reality of modern Adolescence. Understanding the rewards, risks and things you can do to keep your teen social-media-safe may have impactful outcomes for your teen’s mental health.
Rewards
When used Mindfully, social media offers a space for creativity, generativity, artistry, community, diversity, and support for marginalized or neurodiverse adolescents.
Social media is a great space for teens to connect with each other and the world:
Risks
According to the United States Surgeon General, certain social media engagement may have potentially harmful effects on children and adolescent wellbeing.
More than 2,000 families in the United States claim that social media algorithms put their children in danger and are suing major social media companies.
Other research suggests that social media use is associated with high levels of Anxiety and Depression amongst adolescents. Furthermore, increased social media use is correlated with a decrease in self-esteem.
Learning how to engage with social media in an optimal way may be imperative to curtailing these negative mental health outcomes!
How to Stay Safe
When engaged optimally, teens can maximize the rewards of social media while mitigating or eliminating the risks! Here are some tips for safe social media use:
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Social media can be used constructively if active efforts are made to engage with it safely. “Like” is a one-hour film documentary examining the impacts of social media on adolescent mental health.
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Learn more about the Social Media Presentations we offer for students in 5th – 8th grade.
