A 2018 British study tied social media use to decreased, disrupted, and delayed sleep, which is associated with depression, memory loss, and poor academic performance. Social media use can affect users’ physical health even more directly.
- Social Media Benefit 1: It empowers through education.
- Social Media Benefit 2: It boosts global connectivity.
- Social Media Benefit 3: It builds engaged communities.
- Social Media Benefit 4: It provides support and solidarity on social media.
- Building Relationships and Staying Connected. Social media can make it easy to find groups of like-minded people or make new friends.
- Finding Your Voice.
- Showing Empathy and Kindness.
- Offering Support.
- Better Communication.
- Spreading News.
- Building a Business.
- Establishing Authority.
Although there are important benefits, social media can also provide platforms for bullying and exclusion, unrealistic expectations about body image and sources of popularity, normalization of risk-taking behaviors, and can be detrimental to mental health.
The anonymity afforded by social media offers a safe space for people to express themselves and reveal their personal experiences with mental illness. In other words, it allows self-expression without the danger of stigma. “It forms connections in a different way, watching strangers talking openly about their lives.
Positive inspiration: Social networks can create peer motivation, inspiring young people to develop healthy habits, try something new, follow their dreams, and speak up about things that matter to them. Teens can also find positive role models online.
- Building relationships and communities.
- Sharing common interest.
- Offers kindness and empathy.
- Source of knowledge and learning.
- Raise voice on important issues.
- Growing business.
- Spread news.
- Ground for creativity and self-expression.
- Turn Off Notifications. Here is a good place to start – turn off all notifications on your social media accounts.
- Watch Your Time.
- Follow With A Purpose.
- Stop Mindless Scrolling.
- Beware Of Clickbait.
- Monitor Your Emotions.
- Likes Do Not = Self-Worth.
- Understand Privacy Settings.
In today’s society, the use of social media has become a necessary daily activity. Social media is typically used for social interaction and access to news and information, and decision making. It is a valuable communication tool with others locally and worldwide, as well as to share, create, and spread information.
- Use a strong password.
- Use a different password for each of your social media accounts.
- Set up your security answers.
- If you have social media apps on your phone, be sure to password protect your device.
- Be selective with friend requests.
- Click links with caution.
- Own your image, personal information and how these are used. Pay close attention to the Terms of Use on apps and websites.
- Obtain permissions when posting videos or images of others on your networks.
- Scrub your accounts.
- Password diligence.
- Spread love, not hate.
- Consider your intentions. Before you open the app, consider your intentions.
- Be present.
- Remember that what you see may not be reality.
- Be Authentic.
- Don’t scroll, interact!
- Avoid the negativity.
Studies have shown that increased use of social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Tiktok is leading to depression, anxiety, and loneliness. The COVID-19 pandemic has not only pushed more people to the platforms but has also caused people to spend unusual amounts of time cruising their feeds.
- Signal.
- Keybase.
- Telegram.
- Mastodon.
- Snapchat.
- Steemit.
- Minds.
- Element.
Why is staying safe online Important?
Most people store a lot of personal information on their computers. If you don’t protect your computer properly when you’re online, it’s possible that personal details could be stolen or deleted without your knowledge. Your computer can be attacked in a number of ways over the internet.
Social media can also pose risks. For your child, these risks include: being exposed to inappropriate or upsetting content, like mean, aggressive, violent or sexual comments or images. uploading inappropriate content, like embarrassing or provocative photos or videos of themselves or others.
There are some distinct downsides to the use of social media, however, including social, psychological, and criminal issues. Users can be defrauded, mislead, or just end up wasting lots of time without any positive outcomes.
Social media platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and Snapchat ranked lower on the toxicity scale, and YouTube had the lowest toxicity rating of the bunch, averaging 5.38.
- 1) Signal. Initially released in 2014, Signal promises the use of state-of-art security and end-to-end encryption to ensure that your messages are never shared or viewed by anyone apart from yourself and the intended recipients.
- 2) Telegram.
- 3) Keybase.
- 4) Diaspora.
- 5) MeWe.
Kids who begin using social media before turning 13 are beginning their journey into the social media ecosystem as a lie, and worse yet, one that is often condoned by parents. NOTE: at Protect Young Eyes, we advocate for at least age 15 for mature social media platforms like Snapchat and Instagram.
Social media plays an important role in every student’s life. It is often easier and more convenient to access information, provide information and communicate via social media. Tutors and students can be connected to each other and can make good use of these platforms for the benefit of their learning and teaching.
- Communication And Collaboration.
- Finding Concrete Information Online.
- Parental Involvement.
- Improved Literacy, Communication, And Reading Skills.
- Distance Learning Opportunities.
Many people enjoy staying connected on social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn. Yet a growing body of research is finding that excessive use—more than three hours a day—can exacerbate mental health problems, such as anxiety and depression, in teens and young adults.
Social media portrays a false sense of reality that detriments the mental health of heavy users. It has a record-breaking influence on the world, and is glamorized by users and influencers but has negative effects on mental health that can even turn fatal.
- Don’t mistake followers for friends.
- Ban trolls, hoax news, and body-shaming comments.
- Don’t photoshop your body.
- Turn off notifications.
- Flag things you don’t want to see so the algorithm can pick up on it.