{"id":19090,"date":"2021-11-12T04:52:11","date_gmt":"2021-11-12T09:52:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/me-en.kaspersky.com\/blog\/protecting-teens-mental-health-on-social-media\/19090\/"},"modified":"2021-11-15T15:00:17","modified_gmt":"2021-11-15T11:00:17","slug":"protecting-teens-mental-health-on-social-media","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/me-en.kaspersky.com\/blog\/protecting-teens-mental-health-on-social-media\/19090\/","title":{"rendered":"Protecting teens&#8217; mental health on social media"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>We recently observed World Mental Health Day, an international holiday that highlights the importance of mental health in an effort to bring about positive change. Adolescents\u2019 mental health deserves extra attention in our era of social media, about which questions have been raised over psychological addiction and other problems.<\/p>\n<h2>Social media anxiety<\/h2>\n<p>A recent Facebook <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/facebook-knows-instagram-is-toxic-for-teen-girls-company-documents-show-11631620739\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">study<\/a> found that Instagram can harm the psyche of teens, especially girls. Thirty-two percent of teenage girls said that when they felt bad, Instagram made them feel even worse. Among the frequently cited causes of stress were unrealistic standards of beauty and feelings of inadequacy about their standard of living compared to those shown on the screen.<\/p>\n<p>Instagram is trying to deal with some of these problems by introducing various functions to do things like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/technology-57254488\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">hiding the likes counter<\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/business-50152053\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">prohibiting filters<\/a> that demonstrate unrealistic beauty standards.<\/p>\n<p>There are also simple steps users can take:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Unsubscribe from accounts that make you feel sad, inadequate, unconfident or upset.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com\/blog\/8-steps-to-freedom-from-social-media\/42632\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Try to reduce<\/a> the amount of time you spend online.<\/li>\n<li>Take small breaks and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.psychologytoday.com\/us\/blog\/talking-about-men\/202002\/social-media-and-mental-health-time-digital-detox\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">digitally detox<\/a> to escape from social networks, relax and focus on yourself. Kaspersky has launched a digital <a href=\"https:\/\/cyberspa.kaspersky.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">CyberSpa<\/a> space, to help you do this.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Cyberbullying<\/h2>\n<p>Cyberbullying is another well-known issue that can affect a teen\u2019s mental health. Whenever it happens, it should not be tolerated or ignored.<\/p>\n<p>If a teen is being bullied online, the first step is to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.connectsafely.org\/tips-to-help-stop-cyberbullying\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">seek help<\/a> from parents or other trusted adults like a school counselor, sports coach or teacher. If the victim is uncomfortable telling friends about the problem, they can contact a helpline and talk to a professional consultant.<\/p>\n<p>Today, social networks, including Instagram, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.goodmorningamerica.com\/living\/story\/instagram-now-artificial-intelligence-stop-bullying-67751631\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">actively use AI<\/a> to combat abusive comments under pictures and videos. Each social platform also has tools to customize who can comment on or view your posts, as well as to block users and report cases of bullying or intimidation. It can also sometimes be <a href=\"https:\/\/www.stopbullying.gov\/cyberbullying\/how-to-report\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">useful to collect evidence<\/a> in the form of screenshots to confirm what is happening.<\/p>\n<h3>Facebook<\/h3>\n<p>Facebook has developed an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/safety\/bullying\/teens\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Anti-Bullying Center for Teens<\/a>. To fight against bullying on Facebook you can:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Track who tags you on their content. This can be done in the Chronicle &amp; Tags settings.<\/li>\n<li>Check already published materials with your tags, and, if necessary, remove them from materials you do not want to be associated with, using the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/help\/289066827791446\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Activity Log<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>Remove the aggressors from your friends list so that they will not have the opportunity to contact you. And if deleting them does not help, you can <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/help\/168009843260943\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">block users<\/a>. Remember they will not be notified of this. Blocking will prevent abusers from finding your profile and tagging your content. In addition, they will not be able to add you as a friend and track your actions.<\/li>\n<li>Be sure to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/help\/212722115425932\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">report offending materials<\/a> to the support service. You can <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/help\/181495968648557\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">complain<\/a> about content next to a post, photo or comment \u2014 this will draw the attention of Facebook moderators.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Instagram<\/h3>\n<p>Instagram tracks the content posted by users. If the platform sees possible violations, it will <a href=\"https:\/\/about.instagram.com\/blog\/announcements\/our-progress-on-leading-the-fight-against-online-bullying\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">notify<\/a> the user that they are about to publish information that crosses the boundaries. Others steps Instagram users can take include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Use a <a href=\"https:\/\/about.instagram.com\/blog\/announcements\/instagrams-commitment-to-lead-fight-against-online-bullying\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">restrictive tool<\/a> to protect your account without notifying the dangerous users.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/about.instagram.com\/blog\/announcements\/bully-filter-and-kindness-prom-to-protect-our-community\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Moderate comments<\/a> under your posts.<\/li>\n<li>Change <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com\/blog\/keep-instagram-secure\/11045\/#privacy\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">the privacy setting<\/a> on your account to choose who can watch and comment on your content.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Twitter<\/h3>\n<p>Twitter also has an <a href=\"https:\/\/help.twitter.com\/en\/safety-and-security\/cyber-bullying-and-online-abuse\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Online Bullying help center<\/a> offering help and advice. Here are steps Twitter users can take to fight bullying:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Use Twitter\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/help.twitter.com\/en\/managing-your-account\/understanding-the-notifications-timeline\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">expanded notification filters<\/a>. These allow you to filter the accounts from which you receive notifications. For example, you may not receive notifications from users without a profile picture.<\/li>\n<li>Twitter has a <a href=\"https:\/\/help.twitter.com\/en\/managing-your-account\/understanding-the-notifications-timeline\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">mute and notification<\/a> option that you can customize to suit your needs. For instance, you can turn off notifications for keywords or entire phrases. You can turn off notifications for a day, a month, or indefinitely.<\/li>\n<li>One effective step is also the option to <a href=\"https:\/\/help.twitter.com\/en\/using-twitter\/blocking-and-unblocking-accounts\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">block users<\/a>. This will prevent blocked accounts from posting, seeing your tweets, and reading your feed.<\/li>\n<li>If you are a victim of bullying, you should also <a href=\"https:\/\/help.twitter.com\/en\/forms\/safety-and-sensitive-content\/abuse\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">report offending content<\/a>. This will allow Twitter to act and block the user or content.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>TikTok<\/h3>\n<p>TikTok is also creating various tools that allow users to limit unwanted attention. The company has produced a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/safety\/en-us\/bullying-prevention\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">guide<\/a> that helps to identify bullying behavior and take measures against it. Here are some features teens can use:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Configure <a href=\"https:\/\/support.tiktok.com\/en\/account-and-privacy\/account-privacy-settings\/making-your-account-public-or-private\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">video privacy settings<\/a> on a personal account, to choose who can view each video and restrict the upload of personal videos.<\/li>\n<li>The unwanted comments filter <a href=\"https:\/\/support.tiktok.com\/en\/using-tiktok\/messaging-and-notifications\/comments#3\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">allows<\/a> you to create a list of unwanted keywords that will be blocked in the comments on videos or during live broadcasts to protect users from bullying.<\/li>\n<li>User filter allows you to <a href=\"https:\/\/support.tiktok.com\/en\/using-tiktok\/creating-videos\/duet-stitch-and-other-creation-features\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">choose<\/a> who can add the Duet to a user video.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/support.tiktok.com\/en\/using-tiktok\/followers-and-following\/removing-followers\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Blocking users<\/a> makes it possible to block bullies who violate the community rules and notify the platform about their actions.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/support.tiktok.com\/en\/account-and-privacy\/account-privacy-settings\/privacy-controls#direct\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Family settings<\/a> keep teens safe and support them in their creative endeavors without breaking personal boundaries.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>In its relatively short history, we\u2019ve learned that social media may not always be beneficial for our mental health, even while it has other benefits. But by taking advantage of some of the tools at our disposal we can take matters into our own hands and help guide teens on a healthier path.<\/p>\n<input type=\"hidden\" class=\"category_for_banner\" value=\"kis-trial-privacy\">\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As teens spend an increasing amount of time on social media, it\u2019s more important than ever to take care of their mental health.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2688,"featured_media":19091,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[231,89,2520,211,2521],"class_list":{"0":"post-19090","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tips","8":"tag-cyberbullying","9":"tag-kids","10":"tag-mental-health","11":"tag-social-media","12":"tag-world-mental-health-day"},"hreflang":[{"hreflang":"en-ae","url":"https:\/\/me-en.kaspersky.com\/blog\/protecting-teens-mental-health-on-social-media\/19090\/"},{"hreflang":"en-in","url":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.co.in\/blog\/protecting-teens-mental-health-on-social-media\/23638\/"},{"hreflang":"en-us","url":"https:\/\/usa.kaspersky.com\/blog\/protecting-teens-mental-health-on-social-media\/25711\/"},{"hreflang":"en-gb","url":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.co.uk\/blog\/protecting-teens-mental-health-on-social-media\/23771\/"},{"hreflang":"es-mx","url":"https:\/\/latam.kaspersky.com\/blog\/protecting-teens-mental-health-on-social-media\/23311\/"},{"hreflang":"es","url":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.es\/blog\/protecting-teens-mental-health-on-social-media\/26431\/"},{"hreflang":"it","url":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.it\/blog\/protecting-teens-mental-health-on-social-media\/25992\/"},{"hreflang":"ru","url":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.ru\/blog\/protecting-teens-mental-health-on-social-media\/31913\/"},{"hreflang":"tr","url":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com.tr\/blog\/protecting-teens-mental-health-on-social-media\/10267\/"},{"hreflang":"x-default","url":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com\/blog\/protecting-teens-mental-health-on-social-media\/42903\/"},{"hreflang":"fr","url":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.fr\/blog\/protecting-teens-mental-health-on-social-media\/18096\/"},{"hreflang":"pt-br","url":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com.br\/blog\/protecting-teens-mental-health-on-social-media\/18464\/"},{"hreflang":"pl","url":"https:\/\/plblog.kaspersky.com\/protecting-teens-mental-health-on-social-media\/15529\/"},{"hreflang":"de","url":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.de\/blog\/protecting-teens-mental-health-on-social-media\/27728\/"},{"hreflang":"ja","url":"https:\/\/blog.kaspersky.co.jp\/protecting-teens-mental-health-on-social-media\/31962\/"},{"hreflang":"nl","url":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.nl\/blog\/protecting-teens-mental-health-on-social-media\/27835\/"},{"hreflang":"ru-kz","url":"https:\/\/blog.kaspersky.kz\/protecting-teens-mental-health-on-social-media\/24582\/"},{"hreflang":"en-au","url":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com.au\/blog\/protecting-teens-mental-health-on-social-media\/29953\/"},{"hreflang":"en-za","url":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.co.za\/blog\/protecting-teens-mental-health-on-social-media\/29757\/"}],"acf":[],"banners":"","maintag":{"url":"https:\/\/me-en.kaspersky.com\/blog\/tag\/kids\/","name":"kids"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/me-en.kaspersky.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19090","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/me-en.kaspersky.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/me-en.kaspersky.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/me-en.kaspersky.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2688"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/me-en.kaspersky.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19090"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/me-en.kaspersky.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19090\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19093,"href":"https:\/\/me-en.kaspersky.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19090\/revisions\/19093"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/me-en.kaspersky.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19091"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/me-en.kaspersky.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19090"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/me-en.kaspersky.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19090"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/me-en.kaspersky.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19090"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}