We need to promote healthy strategies for the strong mental well-being of social media users.7/20/2017
Interacting Online can present both positive and negative benefits towards learning in the 21st Century classroom. Currently, students have more access to information than any other generation that has come before. Studies have shown that teens are accessing social media more than a hundred times a day on average (Gray, 2015). The range of emotions experienced throughout the duration of the day must be overwhelming to many young students. Many educational institutions have a ban on the use of social media during the formal part of the school day but, students still find a way to get connected and share their information. Their mental health and well-being has come in to question regarding the increased amount of social interaction. One area that is affecting mental health is the increase in depression being observed in the day-to-day actions of highly active users. One study discovered that regular use of social media could lead to symptoms of depression through a trigger of envy being experienced by the user (Abrams, 2017). Envy in social media arises when students uses the service as a tool for comparison. To avoid the social media induced depression, students should be aware of the risks of using the site in a competitive manner. As educators we need to place more attention on how students are using social networking tools such as Facebook and Twitter. One method would be to discuss the legitimacy of the action of making a post. Studies have shown that a majority of social media users tend to edit and post only their most attractive pictures (Abrams, 2017). We all have a bad photo day but, we can the photo look good through the use of image editing software. The following videos discuss some of the effects observed by engaging in social media.
There are several ways that social media can affect our mental well-being. The most obvious being the onset of an observable depression. The American Academy of Pediatrics has warned about the potential for negative effects of social media in young kids and teens and suggest proper education on the effects is needed (Walton, 2017). The following is a list of potential negative effects towards the mental well-being of highly active users of social media.
References:
Abrams, A (2017, March 5). Mental Health and the Effects of Social Media, Psychology Today. Retrieved from https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/nurturing-self-compassion/201703/mental-health-and-the-effects-social-media Gray, J. (2015, October 7). Teens Check Social Media 100 Times A Day, Bustle. Retrieved from https://www.bustle.com/articles/115147-teens-check-social-media-100-times-a-day-says-new-and-slightly-unsurprising-study-but-the Walton, A. (2017, June 30). 6 Ways Social Media Affects Our Mental Health, Forbes. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/alicegwalton/2017/06/30/a-run-down-of-social-medias-effects-on-our-mental-health/#63f258792e5a Videos: Nicholas Christakis - The hidden influence of social networks https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2U-tOghblfE Samia Khan - Social Media: Too Much of a Good Thing? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2a7i-T_G4H0 Images: http://www.newsinmind.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/Help-on-keyboard.jpg https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/57/71/4d/57714d497abede4a5886c9944f49d057.jpg Comments are closed.
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