Introduction
During my practicum time as a school counselor, I was able to review the results of the Youth Risk Behavior Survey that was sent out from the year prior. The results were shocking. Around 70% of students had listed they had poor mental health and lack of coping skills. Now, as I was reading these results, I was also working on a literature review about cyberbullying, social media, and technology use. As I was reading article after article, a common theme was noticed that technology and social media are used as an unhealthy coping mechanism which in turn is lessening adolescents’ emotional regulation in both online activity and in-person interactions.
After reading and processing the literature on social media addiction, internet addiction, and smartphone addiction, I wanted to take the pieces of information that I thought would best help children and adolescents combat these issues and help them take control of their mental health by creating a presentation for them. This is how I came up with a Social Media Awareness training for students. I wanted students to have the tools to better regulate their emotions, online and offline, with the hopes that these skills will help with students’ overall mental health. My goal is to have students be more mindful while they are on social media rather than using it to avoid what they are feeling.
Throughout this literature review, information can be found about the overuse of internet and smartphones affecting mental health in ways of depression, anxiety, and general psychological stress. In line with poor mental health, the lessening of emotional regulation and positive face to face interactions are also a symptom of unhealthy overuse of social media. Information on how researchers have best measured the addiction of internet, smartphones, and social media within adolescents and adults is also discussed. Ending this literature review is existing programming to help fight these addictions and unhealthy social media use through online safety preventions and digital citizenship lessons.