How to empower students to manage social media in healthy ways to avoid anxiety
From FOMO to increased stress, students are facing the pressures of social media, especially since almost half of teens say they use the internet “almost constantly.” And now, 54% of teens feel it would be difficult to give up social media completely. In fact, no other generation has been exposed to social media in the way that current students are. At The Social Institute, we believe in empowering and equipping students to navigate social media and technology in positive and high-character ways, rather than restricting their use. With our Seven Social Standards, you can provide a positive foundation to empower students to manage their relationships with social media to lower anxiety levels.
Before we dive in, let’s look at the facts about social media and anxiety:
- 65% of teens say mental health among other teens in their community is poor or fair
- Source: Common Sense Media
- 4 in 10 parents say it’s difficult to manage how much time their teens spend on their phones
- Source: Pew Research Center
- 1 in 5 teens report symptoms of anxiety or depression
How The Social Institute’s 7 Social Standards can help students manage social media and anxiety
⚖️ Strike A Balance
Whether we’d like to admit it or not, most of us have fallen into a social media wormhole. One second we’re innocently scrolling through our feed and the next we’re realizing we’ve been scrolling for hours. Studies have shown that someone’s screen time can directly affect their anxiety levels. By striking a balance with our devices, we can alleviate anxious feelings and be empowered to make a change in our relationships with social media.
This quick, easy exercise empowers students to take a look into their screen time stats.
- Write down 3 goals, whether they’re short-term or long. Next to each goal, approximate the amount of time you plan to dedicate to it.
- Then, check your screen time stats on your device. For iPhone users, you can easily access this by going to Settings > Screen Time > See All Activity. For Android users, go to Settings > Digital Wellbeing & parental controls > menu > Manage your data > Daily Device usage.
- Finally, reflect on the amount of time you spend on your device versus the amount of time you anticipate needing to reach your goals. Are you balancing your screen time with everything else you hope to accomplish? If not, consider using your phone’s Do Not Disturb feature, focus mode, or turn off notifications to stay focused.
🏌️♀️Play To Your Core
Anyone from complete strangers to college admissions officers can easily access our public social media accounts. In fact, many colleges now look over applicants’ social media accounts in addition to their transcript and applications. 76% of students feel high levels of stress about the college application process. So, building a positive reputation on social media is a great way to reduce the anxiety that may come with applying to colleges.
These two tips can help students ensure that they put their best foot forward when it comes to social media.
- Identify your core values and then skim through your posts. Do your posts align with your core values?
- Remember to keep your future goals in mind when you post. Consider these 5 questions when looking at your social media posts during the college application process.
📱Cyberback
36.5% of people say they have experienced cyberbullying in their lifetime. So showing students real-life examples of how others have used social media to cyberback, or support others online, is a strong way to inspire students to do the same. For example, showing students how stars like Demi Lovato and Chris Evans supported a student who was bullied online gives them a visual representation of how to cyberback.
Additionally, another way that students can support each other online is by actively celebrating positive moves that their family or friends have shared! A nice comment, a like, or a repost can go a long way in supporting people online.
🗣️Find Your Influencers
The different accounts and people students choose to follow online determine the type of content they are exposed to. Some accounts can cause feelings of FOMO, imposter syndrome, anxiety, and more. That’s why we encourage students to take a step back and reevaluate the people they choose to follow online.
We huddled up with actor, director, author, and producer, Justin Baldoni, to talk about all things student well-being and the importance of surrounding ourselves with people who build us up. Check it out here!
“It’s not just about who you’re surrounded with in person, but who you surround yourself with online as well.” – Laura Tierney, Founder and CEO of The Social Institute
👏Handle The Pressure
Olympic gold medalist Mikaela Shiffrin said it perfectly in her online post that she shared after being publicly criticized on social media. In response to many hateful comments, Shiffrin said, “Well kids… feed ‘em what you wanna feed ’em. Self-pity, sadness… let the turkeys get you down. There will always be turkeys. Or get up, again. Again. Again. Again. Again. Again. Again.”
93% of people who are victims of cyberbullying report feelings of powerlessness. By modeling after Shiffrin’s advice, students are reminded that they have the power to stay true to who they are and keep working towards their goals, no matter the pressure from others.
🎤Use Your Mic For Good
As social media evolves, social activism and how we raise awareness for different causes evolve with it. Social media can be an extremely powerful tool and a way for students to speak up for the things that they believe in. Instead of feeling anxious or helpless about causes we care about, we can use social media to amplify our voices online in a thoughtful and meaningful way.
Did you know that…
- 55% of people who engage with nonprofits on social media end up taking further action?
- 58% of students say social media is important for them when getting involved with political or social issues?
🔒Protect Your Privacy Like You’re Famous
Even apps meant for privacy, like Venmo, collect personal information from their users now. Students now face the challenge of managing multiple apps’ privacy policies to be sure that they feel confident in the data they share online. Six in ten teens say they feel like they have little or no control over social media companies collecting their personal information.
Encourage your students to protect their privacy by:
- Challenging them to think about their level of personal privacy
- Prompting them to learn about the privacy features of apps they frequently use
This way, students have the power to ultimately determine if app settings align with how private a person they are.
➡️Privacy Reset: a guide from The Washington Post is a great resource to reference to learn about the privacy features of apps like LinkedIn, TikTok, Google, and more. We recommend bookmarking this one for sure. Because the more you protect your privacy, the safer you can feel online.
Our advice to educators to empower students to navigate social media positively to and lower anxiety
When it comes to social media, students are often way ahead of the curve. Find out what they wish you knew about social media and well-being so that you can better support them.
Educators have the power to focus on the do’s instead of the don’ts for our students when it comes to social media. When we choose to proactively talk to students about using these standards to navigate their social media use in high-character ways, we all win in the end.