In Health class, we researched a wellbeing issue in groups and presented the information at and expo station, displaying it to other classes to raise awareness. My group used posters, a video and a Kahoot to promote and teach about the issue of the excessive use of social media.

What were the biggest things you learnt while completing this task?

Some of the biggest things I learnt while completing this task was about the variety of unique dangers that social media can cause (such as increased risk of mental illness, feelings of inadequacy, fear of missing out, isolation, cyberbullying, self absorption and lessened connection with the world), and why. The task allowed me to gain a deeper understanding on why this was an issue and what the base causes of it being an issue was, therefore helping more for avoiding the issue due to the understanding. One of these things was about how everything tied into each other. When using social media, even though we know something may be fake, we are still affected by them. This gives us the fear of missing out, which can impact self esteem, leading to anxiety and therefore more use, fuelling addiction. This is just one of the many ways things tie together, which can inform us about how we need to try harder to avoid these issues, as they can lead on to many others.

What one piece of advice would you pass on to young people with regards to wellbeing above all else? Why?

One piece of advice I would pass on to young people in regards to wellbeing is to take preventative action against things to avoid addiction, such as to social media, before it is too late.

This is because it is much easier to prevent things than to stop something already in action, so while people are not addicted they need to make sure to avoid it for this to be easier in the long run. Due to all the issues this can cause, and how they can easily cause and add onto each other, it is much more difficult to stop than to prevent, and this is also important to avoid issues overall, instead of having to experience them to know to stop.

Write down a pledge that you will commit to in regards to your own wellbeing. Why did you pick these things to commit to? How will you stick to these commitments?

I pledge to commit to limiting distractions of social media. This is so that I do not become too attached to it and it does not affect other areas of my life. I will stick to this by limiting time, leaving distractions away when I have something else to do or that I can do, and keeping notice of what I am doing, rather than letting it become a usual mindless activity.