Today marks the start of Mental Health Awareness Week, and this year’s theme is loneliness.
Excessive use of the internet has been linked to loneliness amongst young people, but Childnet advocate that sensible and learned use of the internet can help young people to identify with online communities and feel a sense of ‘fitting in’.
Take advice directly from this blog this Mental Health Awareness Week – as an educator, your classes will benefit from raised awareness of digital wellbeing; as a parent or carer, discussing the importance of online safety will promote a healthy, open and honest attitude towards digital wellbeing in your household.
If you’re a young person aged 11-18, we recommend going through our Digital Wellbeing page to see how you can recognise the way going online makes you feel and know how to manage it.
Parents and Carers
Family Agreement
It is important that young people see adults using technology in a healthy way so model this in your own behaviour. Using a Family Agreement or establishing a clear routine for younger children can also help to set clear boundaries about meaningful use of technology.
Our ‘Family Agreement Advice’ provides a list of things to consider when creating your agreement and some examples of how the agreement could look. Our ‘Family Agreement Template’ provides a framework that will help families set clear expectations for positive and safe internet use.
Start a broader conversation
A simple and effective way to get involved with your children and their lives online is through discussion. By maintaining an open dialogue with your child and encouraging them to talk to you about their internet use, parents can help children access the amazing resources the internet has to offer whilst keeping them safe online.
Crucially, reaching out to your child in this way will ensure the best chance of them knowing they aways have someone to turn to if they come across content which could trigger feelings of loneliness or alienation.
Here are some conversation starter ideas – for full advice and top tips, visit our Have a conversation page under our resources for parents and carers?
- Ask your children to tell you about the websites they like to visit and what they enjoy doing online.
- Ask them about how they stay safe online. What tips do they have for you, and where did they learn them? What is okay and not okay to share?
- Ask them if they know where to go for help, where to find the safety advice, privacy settings and how to report or block on the services they use.
Educators
Gone too Far
This is a film resource for teachers and professionals to use in sessions to combat cyberbullying and online hate amongst young people in schools.
Whilst cyberbullying is a specific proponent of loneliness and there are other aspects of life online that can trigger these emotions, this film is an engaging and conversation-starting way of showing young people how loneliness can be exacerbated by how they are spoken to and treated by online.
It will encourage your pupils to reflect on their own behaviour in previous situations and help to promote kind, accepting behaviour.
Top Tips, Help & Advice for lessons
Young people are growing up in a world where technology has always been present for them, which can have a positive and negative impact on their mental state.
We recommend using our Help & Advice section to help deliver key messages about Digital Wellbeing for young people. You can find this here.
Here are some example Top Tips:
- Talk about how going online can impact our emotions
Make this a regular habit and try to check-in with young people this Mental Health Awareness Week and after school holidays.
- Use wellbeing tools
For example, lots of devices and platforms offer tools to support digital wellbeing. You may also be able to turn off notifications for apps or use ‘mute’ or ‘do not disturb’ modes. Visit the useful links below for more ideas.
And of course, remember to check in with yourself and your family this Mental Health Awareness Week. We recommend visiting Mental Health’s official website for Mental Health Awareness Week for advice about coping with loneliness and improving your mental health.
