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The Bright Side of Your Feed: How to help students build a more balanced and positive online world

The Power of a Digital Detox and YouTube’s Push for Mindful Scrolling

The Gist: When marketing manager Jess Farnham realized her screen time was getting out of hand, she decided it was time to make a change. Trading her smartphone for an old-school flip phone, she embarked on a week-long “digital detox” that completely transformed her routine. Another approach to striking a balance with screen time and making it more intentional comes from YouTube, which is introducing a new feature to encourage mindful scrolling. 

What to Know: Jess Farnham reports that her break helped her feel calmer, sleep better, and focus more deeply throughout her day. Farnham shared that she did not want to “spend 13 years of her life on TikTok,” referencing the average time people spend on their phones over a lifetime. What began as a seven-day experiment turned into a lasting habit. Now, putting her phone away regularly has become an important part of her weekly routine.

At the same time, YouTube now allows users to set daily limits for watching Shorts. While short-form videos can be entertaining, they can also make it easy to lose track of time. YouTube’s new tool automatically pauses Shorts once a daily limit is reached, offering users a helpful reminder to take a tech break. Although the feature can be dismissed, it marks a meaningful step toward promoting balance and helping students use tech to control tech.

Stories like these show how individuals and platforms alike are rethinking their relationship with technology. Just like Jess, students can become more conscious of their screen time, and apps are beginning to provide tools that support these efforts toward balance. From digital detoxes to daily limits, the focus is shifting from constant connection to intentional use. For students, this serves as a valuable reminder that digital well-being begins with awareness, reflection, and balance.

TSI’s Take: Striking a balance between screen time and real life helps students stay grounded and focused. Even The Social Institute’s founder and CEO, Laura Tierney, models this practice by switching between a smartphone and a flip phone to keep her tech use intentional. If you’re students aren’t ready to switch to a flip phone, here are some other tips you can share with them to help them strike a balance:

• Pause with purpose: Build small “tech timeouts” each day to reset and recharge.
• Reflect on habits: Identify which platforms or activities add value and which cause distraction.
• Prioritize presence: Use technology to connect and create, not to replace real-life experiences.

Help students explore this concept in the #WinAtSocial Lesson, Strike a Balance: What does it mean to be smart about how we spend our time, where they learn to unplug with purpose and strengthen their mental fitness

Healthier Feeds and Safer Spaces: How Bluesky and Pinterest Are Reshaping Social Media

The Gist: Social media platform Bluesky recently reached 40 million users and introduced a new “Dislike” button designed to make feeds more positive, not more negative. The feature allows users to inform the platform of posts they want to see less of, improving personalization and reducing toxic content. Meanwhile, Gen Z users are flocking to Pinterest because they are finding it to be a less toxic social media platform that prioritizes safety and emotional well-being. 

What to Know: In a time when social media algorithms fill students’ feeds with content students did not choose or want to see, Bluesky is taking intentional steps to make platforms more user-centered, healthier, and reflective of genuine connection. Pinterest claims to be on a similar mission, positioning itself as a platform that “makes you feel better after time spent on it.” 

Bluesky and Pinterest are part of a growing trend toward online spaces that prioritize kindness, authenticity, and balance. By the community at large applying pressure to tech companies, some are beginning to design tools that give users more control, showing what healthy engagement can look like online. Students can take a similar approach by curating their own feeds and focusing on content that supports their growth and confidence.

TSI’s Take: The key for students to proactively make their social media feeds a positive and safe space, without relying on tech companies to design more features, is to equip them to play to their core as they navigate social media. This means letting your values guide what you post, follow, and engage with. By interacting with content or accounts that positively reflect their own values, students can shape their online environment in ways that reflect empathy, curiosity, and self-awareness. Here are a few tips to share with your students today:

• Curate positivity: Follow creators who motivate and inspire you to learn and grow.
• Use tools intentionally: Take advantage of features that let you manage what you see in your feed.
• Reflect your values: Share and interact with content that promotes respect and creativity.

Preview the #WinAtSocial Lesson, Reflecting our values in the content we share or consume, where students learn to align their online actions with their values and create supportive, uplifting spaces for others.

Sharing Good Deeds Online Boosts Trust and Connection

The Gist: A new study from the University of Rhode Island found that sharing positive actions online, such as volunteering, mentoring, or donating, increases trust and strengthens relationships. Participants in the study viewed people who posted about their good deeds as more reliable, approachable, and inspiring. 

What to Know: The study noted that the impact extended beyond likes and comments. Those who shared uplifting moments often inspired others to take similar actions in their own lives. When users reshared or engaged with these posts, the sense of community and connection grew even stronger. Researchers noted that these findings highlight the power of social media when it is used with purpose, reminding us that sharing the good we do online can encourage kindness and strengthen digital communities. 

The findings from this study show that positivity and good deeds are contagious and that small actions can have a big impact. When students are encouraged to use their mics for good, they can inspire others to act, build stronger relationships, and help shape a more encouraging online culture. For students, this is a reminder that social media can be more than entertainment; it can be a tool for connection, leadership, and good. 

TSI’s Take: Using your mic for good means using your social media platforms to amplify positivity and purpose. When students share stories that reflect empathy and integrity, they help build a culture of trust and optimism across their communities and might inspire the same in others. Encourage your students to celebrate the good they do themselves or the good they see others doing with these tips: 

• Start small: Sometimes it’s overwhelming to think of all the causes that need support. You can start simply by choosing one cause and sharing its resources with your friends or followers.
• Don’t be shy: If you are volunteering for the day and are already on social media, post about how helping out for the day made you feel. Highlighting this meaningful action might inspire others to make a difference.
• Amplify kindness: Support others by resharing their positive stories or community efforts.

Want to explore this in action? Preview the #WinAtSocial Lesson, Helping people in need – nearby and around the world, to learn how students were moved to help and volunteer after Hurricane Helene when fellow classmates shared how the hurricane had affected their families.

Across student experiences with tech and social media, a common theme is emerging: technology is more powerful and more positive when we navigate it with purpose. Whether it’s taking intentional screen breaks, curating feeds that reflect our values, or sharing good dees that inspire others, students have the ability to shape healthier online spaces for themselves and others. Ready to explore how you can equip students to do so? Request a demo of The Social Institute’s positive and proactive approach to Social Media Literacy.

The Social Institute (TSI) is the leader in equipping students, families, and educators with modern life skills to impact learning, well-being, and students’ futures. Through #WinAtSocial, our interactive, peer-to-peer learning platform, we integrate teacher PD, family resources, student voice insights, and more to empower entire school communities to make positive choices online and offline. #WinAtSocial Lessons teach essential skills while capturing student voice and actionable insights for educators. These insights help educators maintain a healthy school culture, foster high-impact teaching, and build meaningful relationships with families. Our unique, student-respected approach empowers and equips students authentically, enabling our solution to increase classroom participation and improve student-teacher relationships. Through our one-of-a-kind lesson development process, we create lessons for a variety of core and elective classes, incorporating timely topics such as social media, A.I., screen time, misinformation, and current events to help schools stay proactive in supporting student health, happiness, and academic success.