The two areas from my last post that I've been diving deeper into is social media and mental health, and helping kids understand the news.
Social Media and Mental Health
Social medial has become very common place in our society, with many people spending an average to 2 hours per day engaged in some form of social media (TEDx Ryerson U, Parnell, 2017). I believe that social media consumption can contribute to both positive and negative aspects of mental health, and as such, as educators we can play a role in helping youth navigate through the terrain of social media in ways that are healthful and positive.
TEDx Ryerson U talk by Bailey Parnell, Is Social Media Hurting Your Mental Health?
In this talk Bailey Parnell discusses the ways in which social media can negatively impact our mental health. She lists 1. the highlight reel, 2. social currency, 3. FOMO (fear of missing out), and 4. online harassment as the four big social media mental health stressors. She also lists things we can do to create what she calls social media wellness. These are 1. recognize the problem, 2. audit your social media diet, 3. create a better online experience, and 4. model good behaviour. I like the concrete way she lays out the not only the problems with social media, but possible solutions as well. This would be a great resource to use for discussing social media and mental health with students.
Is Social Media Hurting Your Mental Health? | Bailey Parnell | TEDxRyersonU
Dr. David Puder's Psychiatry & Psychotherapy Podcast Episode 065: Is Social Media Good for Mental Health? with Victoria Burghart
In this episode of the podcast of Psychiatry & Psychotherapy, host Dr. David Puder MD. and 4th year medical student Victoria Burghart ask the question, is social media good for mental health? This is an interesting discussion on the research around the link between mental health and social media use, primarily in adolescents. As well they ask the question is social media actually social?, and look at statistics around social media use.
Episode 065: Is Social Media Good for Mental Health?
Kids and the News
As a parent and an educator, I often think of the balance between helping kids learn about the wider world while at the same time trying to buffer them from the more scary and disturbing parts of humanity. The news is full of stories about war, disease, and injustice. As future leaders, kids need to be informed about the world around them, but they need help navigating the news in a way that is developmentally appropriate.
Building News Literacy by Tom Bober
This book by Tom Bober is created for educators to teach news literacy. The beginning of the book contains information on students and media literacy, specifically as it relates to the news. Bober looks at topics such as where to students encounter news and what are challenges to teaching news literacy. The last section is a collection of lessons for teaching news literacy. There is a lot of interesting content in this book and it is also a very practical resource for teachers and Teacher Librarians.
What to do when the News Scares You: A Kid's Guide to Understanding Current Events by Jacqueline B. Toner, PhD
This book is intended for kids and their parents and care givers, but could be effective in schools as well as a means of making big news events less scary to kids. It is in a workbook format that couples information with reflection and action plans.
Works Cited
Bober, T. (2021). Building News Literacy: Lessons for Teaching Critical Thinking Skills in Elementary and Middle Schools. Libraries Unlimited.
Puder, D (Host). (2019, Nov. 6). Is Social Media Good for Mental Health? (No. 65). Psychiatry & Psychotherapy Podcast.
https://www.psychiatrypodcast.com/psychiatry-psychotherapy-podcast/2019/11/6/is-social-media-good-for-mental-health
TEDx Ryerson U. (2017, July 22). Is Social Media Hurting Your Mental Health? | Bailey Parnell | TEDxRyersonU. [Video]. You Tube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Czg_9C7gw0o
Toner, J. (2021). What to do When the News Scares You: A Kid's Guide to Understanding Current Events. Magination Press.
You have curated, linked, and annotated a good list of resources to support your inquiry. You have a strong foundation here for future work. If you intend to continue with this theme for your final project, you may want to start thinking about what kind of digital artifact you could make to share and showcase your learning. I look forward to seeing where your learning takes you.
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