How to strike a balance with social media and tech this school year, according to students
Welcome to part two of our blog on striking a balance this year! In case you missed it, read about the top apps to help with time management and striking a balance with social media.
Things to remember to help strike a balance with social media and tech
There are tons of physical, mental, emotional, and academic benefits to striking a balance and effectively managing your time with social media and tech. Whether your students are personally working on improving their self-esteem, their sleep habits, or their productivity, they can gain a lot from prioritization and time management. To help them reach their short- and long-term goals, our student influencers, Sean, Darci, and Dino, have tons of advice on how to make positive changes in our daily lives to strike a balance and have the most successful year, yet!
FOMO is real, but it doesn’t have to rule your life:
“Fear of missing out (FOMO) is real. And I really struggled with it when trying to strike a balance. I hated missing things happening on Twitter or Instagram. But, eventually I realized over time that it’s not as important to see things as soon as they come out as you may think.” – Sean Leider
The power of saying no:
“I overcommitted my freshman year of college and struggled with saying no. Now, I feel like a lot of my downtime comes from me saying no and prioritizing my well-being. It’s okay to say no. It’s okay to not be in every club or on every team. Downtime is super important for recharging and for your well-being.” – Darci Anderson
How building resilience can improve productivity and self-confidence:
“Resilience is a tolerance for your discomfort. When you escape discomfort through scrolling, you’re avoiding the discomfort that eventually builds up. I believe this lowers our tolerance for discomfort. When I was striking a balance, I felt like I was developing myself socially and emotionally, as well as improving my tolerance for discomfort. This meant I was able to push myself harder at work, school, physically, and more. I became a lot happier with who I am as a person.” – Dino Ambrosi
Plan, Plan, Plan:
“Planning your day out in the morning is huge! Even on the weekends, set plans and make goals for yourself. Have a general idea of what you need to accomplish so you’re not stressed about it later in the week. Evaluate and prioritize what is important to you. Put away distractions when you need to focus, and remember to make short-term and long-term goals.” – Sean Leider
Be accountable and transparent to reach your goals:
“Be accountable for how much time you spend on social media and see how that makes you feel. Being transparent by telling someone your goals will helppush you towards that goal. This will helps motivate you to strike a balance and prioritize time-management.” – Dino Ambrosi
Make your own priorities:
“Find your own priorities and don’t determine them from your peers. Find what you value and spend your time that way.” – Darci Anderson
More resources to help students strike a balance
This school year, empower your students to make high character decisions online with these 20 tips to make social media a positive place. If you’re passionate about supporting student well-being, in and out of the classroom, request a demo of #WinAtSocial – our gamified-learning platform designed to help students strike a balance with social media and tech, as well as empower them to make powerful and positive decisions online.
The Social Institute (TSI) is the leader in understanding student experiences and creator of #WinAtSocial, a gamified, online learning platform that equips students, educators, and families to navigate social experiences — online and offline — in healthy ways. Our unique, student-respected approach incorporates topics like social media, technology use, and current events that have a significant impact on student well-being. Lessons teach life skills for the modern day to inspire high-character decisions that support the health, happiness, and future success of students, while capturing data that provides insights to school leaders to inform school policy and communications, and enable high-impact teaching and a healthy learning environment. For schools, our turnkey technology allows for easy implementation and a comprehensive game plan to support the well-being of school communities.For schools, our turnkey technology allows for easy implementation and a comprehensive game plan to support the well-being of school communities.