Smart and easy things easily attract young minds, and just like that, Social media remains a constant obsession among teens.
It might sound surprising, but according to the Pew Research Center’s 2024 report, in the past decade, around 46 % of teens have been spending almost all day on the internet using social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and whatnot, which is significantly impacting their thoughts and actions.
Hours of social media and screen time lead to unhealthy habits and health. It not only sets unrealistic expectations and high demands, which play with the mental health of children, but also causes a big impact on their lives, making it necessary to be controlled by adopting mindful habits and self-control.
Neglecting responsibilities, being lazy, social withdrawal, constant fatigue, sleep disturbances and hatred are the constant signs of harmful use of social media among teens. Major symptoms for the same also include fear of missing out (FOMO), irritability, and restlessness.
That’s why balancing social media and mental health has become important and something that we can’t afford to ignore.
In this digital world, where every single hand is busy scrolling, this blog will help you find out the methods to balance social media and mental health in your age.
Balancing Social Media and Mental Health
1. Healthy Habits For Social Media Use
Social media controls how we look at the world and what we learn from it, and for that, it is required to know that there’s a very thin line between using and misusing it.
With its network-building greatness, social media helps with information, awareness, and easy communication. But among young adults like you, it directly impacts your daily routine and academics as you unknowingly spend most of your time online scrolling and texting.
There are a few healthy habits of social media use that will help you:
1. The very first thing you can do to maintain a healthy social media habit is to maintain boundaries. Look for social media apps or platforms that are kid-friendly. For instance, you can select the ‘Less’ sensitive content option on social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram.
2. Taking constant breaks could be a very impactful which can slowly break the pattern of continuous time a person spends online.
3. Moreover, setting a time limit or daily use limit can give you a sense of relief or satisfaction that you didn’t overspend time on the internet.
4. Customizing your social handles by turning off notifications can help to avoid non essential messages, and even practicing digital detoxes can work wonders.
2. Protecting Your Mental Health Online
You won’t realize but among teenagers and young adults, the prevalence of depression often comes due to online comparisons. Seeing other people’s “perfect” lives online all the time makes many people doubt themselves and feel bad about their own lives, which hurts their self-confidence.
If talking about the teenage girls specifically, they start believing in fake beauty standards they see online, and get insecure and feel small.
In such a case, it’s important to pay attention to what you are watching, whom do you follow, and how you perceive things online.
There are a few measures to stay away from this constant loop:
- Engage mindfully, protect your privacy, and stay cautious of what you share online. Always look for positive influences and surroundings. Just like you become choosy when it comes to making friends, the same way you will have to become choosy in where you are spending your time.
- Practicing gratitude and being grateful for what you have should always be on your mind because eventually it will help you meet the real you. Watching dreams is completely fine, but neglecting the real world can affect your decision-making.
- Set clear boundaries by limiting your exposure and being emotionally strong to control your feelings over social media.
3. Balancing The Digital and Real World
Recent research by The Lancet provides that the impact of unhealthy influencers on teens is increasing day by day. It is concerning how the teens get influenced and wants to have everything in trend. And failure to do so directly impacts their mental health.
However, safeguarding mental health is not that hard if you set your mind to it.
Here is a clearer and more engaging way to balance your lifestyle:
- You can start by prioritizing physical and mental well-being and build real-life connections that will help you stay focused on the outside world.
- A positive environment plays a very major role in life, shaping your lifestyle in a way that promotes well-being and growth.
- Spend ample of time with your friends and family because that’s what you have got in real.
- Set clear goals and make sure that social media is not impacting your productivity and real life objectives.
4. When To Seek Help And Where To Turn
Studies show that teens hesitate to ask for help and feel embarrassed when things get out of their hands. But it is necessary to rescue yourself from not-so-small problems and treat these issues instantly.
Pay attention to your body and symptoms like ongoing anxiety, depression, irritability, and mood swings.
Dramatic changes like struggling with sleep, appetite changes, and falling grades are topics of major concern.
If you or one of your loved ones is struggling with these issues, take immediate action:
- Talk to a trusted person or family member; it will surely relieve some burden and lighten your mood.
- Connecting with Professional mental health experts and taking therapy or doing one-to-one conversations can help a lot in such conditions.
- There are various toll-free helpline numbers like Kiran 24×7 mental health helpline: 1800-599-0019, Child helpline number 1098 that deal with overwhelming conditions.
How HPS Supports Digital Wellness
Education plays a very important role in shaping the future of a person, and the right schooling is an essential part of a child’s life. It works as the first guiding light, and Haryana Public School takes this responsibility very seriously and makes sure to guide each child equally.
HPS ensures to make their children academically rich and physically fit, and keeps them away from screens and distracts their minds from social media by engaging them in innovative and fulfilling activities that capture their attention and provide a sense of purpose.
Being a part of this digital world, we understand it is difficult to stay away from social media completely and hard in balancing social media and mental health. However, we make sure that every child at our school is educated enough to understand its proper use and the harm it can cause if used excessively. To support this, we organize timely workshops for students, parents, and faculty members to spread awareness about the impact of social media and how to create a healthy balance in life.
Why Choose HPS Narnaul for your Young Children
Haryana is a place rich in culture, where traditional festivals and deep-rooted family values help their children and keep them grounded.
And to enhance such values, HPS prepares its children and gives them a bright future.
Our school follows CBSE guidelines and provides various modern facilities like Library, Science Laboratory, ICT Laboratory, Smart board classrooms, Learning hub, Art & Discovery room, Multimedia Centre, and more. With various extracurricular activities and sports programs, Haryana Public School forms an active environment and eventually gives a smart personality to its children.
If you are looking for the best CBSE school in Narnaul, Haryana, for your kids, which not only prepares them academically but also focuses on holistic development for this digital and high-tech modern world, look no further than Haryana Public School.
For more information, visit “https://www.hpsnarnaul.co.in/”.