{"id":435,"date":"2021-02-23T15:05:41","date_gmt":"2021-02-23T23:05:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sd41blogs.ca\/andersons\/?p=435"},"modified":"2021-02-25T07:55:43","modified_gmt":"2021-02-25T15:55:43","slug":"screens-social-media-and-mental-health","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/sd41blogs.ca\/andersons\/2021\/02\/23\/screens-social-media-and-mental-health\/","title":{"rendered":"Screens, Social Media, and Mental Health"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hello Everyone,<\/p>\n

Two weekends ago I was meeting up with a friend of mine at the dog park during the latest snow fall. Our dogs were obliviously and happily wrestling in the snow and it was truly amazing to see what was going on in the park. One child was sledding down the small hill in our local park in a laundry hamper, which has to be a truly unique Vancouver experience, and an epic parent vs kids snowball fight was going on on the other end of the field. Not to mention the craziness that was happening among the dogs who rarely see snow. As we were talking we noticed that all the other dog owners, about 8 in all, were glued to their cell phones. My friend remarked that they were all missing out on the amazing things going on in the park.<\/span><\/p>\n

Screen time is increasing among all segments of our population, not just dog owners at dog parks. In part, this makes sense as during a pandemic there can often appear to be not much else to do than get on screens. In some cases, it is our only way to connect socially to others or have relaxing time. Screens can also be a strategy for managing our children. However, here are a few statistics related to kids and screen time that I found surprising and jarring.<\/p>\n

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Some statistics that stood out for me here are that only 8% of students in our community are meeting the recommended screen time limits, under 2 hours a day. Second, is the average recreational<\/em> screen time among youth in our community is a whopping 5.6 hours\/day.\u00a0 The question that came up for me is what are the effects of this screen use on our children.<\/p>\n

Positive Effects<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

First, and often less talked about, are the positive effects of screen use. During the pandemic we have become more reliant on screens for not only our jobs but kids are using them for school more frequently or to connect with friends. The positive effects of screens are significant and crucially important, especially to our children.<\/p>\n

Missed Opportunities<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Viewing screens (tv\/movies) in a group, social\/online gaming, and social media activities present us, and our children, with many positive experiences. However, while viewing screens we are also missing out on other opportunities such as physical activities. face to face interactions including connecting to family, reading, outdoor time, art activities such as drawing, or even managing boredom (an overlooked skill).<\/p>\n

It is sometimes helpful to think of screen time and social media use like our diet. What are we consuming? Just like with food our digital diet can be nutritious or junk food. Having a treat is fine on occasion but we need to have a balance of experiences (food). If all we do is eat junk food we are going to start feeling terrible and our bodies are not going to be at their best. The same goes for screens. If we have a lot of screen time in a day we are can feel equally bad and our bodies will certainly not be at their best.<\/p>\n

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Social Media and its affects on your Mental Health<\/h3>\n

Positive Effects of Social Media<\/strong><\/p>\n

As humans, social interaction is vital to our psychological well-being. When we cannot see the people we love in person, social media gives us the tools to stay connected.\u00a0For youth, social media plays a significant and important part in their social lives.\u00a0<\/span>While these platforms cannot fully replace face-to-face interaction, social media can provide a number of positive benefits.<\/p>\n

Screen time can:<\/p>\n