Social media and our health – level 3

Social media and our health

04-06-2024 07:00

On a cold morning in Charville, Queensland, Australia, 18-year-old Jordi serves coffee to the sleepy town. Charville is its world; however, Jordi feels social media is like a second reality.

Jordi spends around 5.5 hours a day online, reduced from the 7-8 hours she used to during high school, mostly on TikTok and Snapchat. The decrease was due to personal growth and bullying, when boys told her to kill herself on TikTok. Despite the negativity, putting down her phone felt impossible because of the fear of missing out. Social media has both positive and negative impacts on Jordi’s mental health, making her feel happy but insecure at the same time.

Dr. Alisa Werner-Sidler studies the connection between screen time and teen mental health. She suggests that more research and data sharing from tech companies are needed. Social media platforms have safety measures, but their enforcement is questionable. Jordi is grateful for her mother’s intervention in reducing her screen time. She believes that a temporary social media shutdown could benefit everyone.

Difficult words: enforcement (making people obey a law or rule), intervention (becoming involved in a difficult situation to improve it or prevent it), shutdown (turning off).

You can watch the video news lower on this page.

What are the positive and negative impacts of social media on Jordi's mental health according to the text?

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