Adolescents face both benefits and risks to being online. Our digital world allows kids to connect with friends, explore creative projects, pursue their interests and find community – often in mere moments. Such instant, constant connection to the world also carries risks – cyberbullying, harassment, and divisiveness; unhealthy social comparisons; exposure to inappropriate content; as well as privacy and safety concerns.
Whether it’s a positive activity or not, any time spent online is time spent away from healthy activities that we know improve mental health and well-being. Here’s how you can help.
Take care of the basics. One way that adults can help kids navigate their digital lives is by emphasizing the basics first and foremost: sufficient sleep, fresh air, physical activity, healthy eating and in-person extracurriculars all feed your brain and protect mental health. These daily habits are the healthy brain basics.
Teach them how to drive their digital lives. You can also help kids take control of their digital lives by teaching them how to protect their mental health. They should actively manage their feed; curate positive and uplifting content; set all apps to private mode; share the best parts of social media with loved ones; schedule downtime and a recurring digital detox; talk about negative, scary, or harmful content with a trusted adult; and always know that help is available.
Have fun with and talk about social media. Professionals who work with children know how much kids love to turn the tables and show adults how something works – or teach you something new. Let kids be clever and explain the meaning behind a viral meme. Make space for them to show you the latest dance craze. Ask them to explain how a setting on your personal device works. Empower students to engage with you and consume media along with adults so they normalize social media conversations with trusted adults.
Normalize tech-free zones and tech-free time. Explain the crucial role of sleep and why phones should never be kept in kids’ bedrooms overnight. Model tech-free zones at school. Counselors can talk about bell-to-bell phone policies that restrict student cell phone use during the school day. Mounting anecdotal evidence shows that students are talking, laughing, playing games and interacting far more than before these policies. These positive signs are in addition to the much-improved classroom focus that teachers report. We know from research that when academics improve, well-being improves and vice versa.
Double down on coping skills. Both kids and adults face an increasing amount of digital stress. Kids can be exposed to lots of overwhelming content online. Sometimes they are overwhelmed by the pressure to look a certain way or pressure to achieve. Teaching effective coping skills; helping students identify what works for them; and reinforcing the lifelong need to manage stress may be the most lasting impact we can have on adolescents. Coping skills are life skills. (Check out our compilation of coping skills from Wisconsin youth for inspiration!)
