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Category: Information and resources

Social media, self-esteem and young people

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Increasing reports of the negative impact of social media on young people’s self-esteem cannot be ignored, but are they true?

A number of popular social media platforms with different functions are now used by young people in Ireland. We are connected more than ever before and that connectivity causes concern for some parents.

Young people’s use of technology

Technology, as they say, is neutral, these are really tools to enable communication and entertainment.

The evidence to support the negative impact on young people’s mental health seems to come in thick and fast. Though there is plenty of evidence to say the contrary.

Social media allows people to connect with like-minded people, no matter where they are. This can be of great comfort and an outlet for young people. It can also allow a platform for self-expression.

Unfortunately, it has also become a place where young people can continuously compare themselves against a benchmark. Some young people can get caught in the trap of gaining their self-worth from a numbers game of likes, shares and follows.

 

Screen time and young people

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The term ‘screen time’ gets bandied about quite a bit. When the phrase is linked with young people, reports are often negative.

Recently with restrictions due to the pandemic, it is likely that screen time has increased across the board. However, the term itself is quite misleading as not all screen time is equal.

The media often covers studies linking teen depression and screen time, or young people’s use of social media and anxiety.

However, recent studies have challenged the way these studies were conducted. Researchers from the University of Oxford have stated that the use of phones, tablets and laptops is no worse for teenagers’ mental health than eating more potatoes.

That’s not to underestimate concerns you may have if there are huge fights about turning the Wi-Fi off. Being on the receiving end of grunts from behind a phone day in, day out can cause a lot of frustration for parents.

In this article you will find:

Anxiety and young people

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Anxiety is an uncomfortable feeling of fear or stress. It’s quite a common feeling we all experience at some stage.

Many young people accessing Jigsaw face-to-face services report feelings of anxiety as one of the things going on for them.

In this article, you will find:

How to tell when a young person is struggling

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At Jigsaw, we know early intervention can make a huge difference to a young person’s mental health. Offering support early on can prevent a young person’s mood from deteriorating and possibly avert a crisis.

To act early, you need to know what to look out for. And how to tell if someone is beginning to struggle with their mental health.

Recognising signs

We have all had those moments where we recognise a young person not quite seeming themselves.

It might be something they say or do, or something they fail to do, that lets us know they may be struggling with their mental health. We all have our off days. It is important to acknowledge and to talk about this.

However, there are some changes in how a young person is acting, thinking or feeling that can be first signs they are struggling.

Self-care for parents

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Often as parents, all your focus and attention can go on making sure your young people are alright. Understandably, they are your first priority. But with this focus, it can be easy to lose sight of your own self-care needs.

Looking after your own mental health tends to come last on the long list of things to do. While this is understandable, it isn’t sustainable or useful in the long run. To be able to support young people effectively, parents need to be in a good place themselves.

Lockdown has been very tough due to Covid-19. As restrictions ease, self-care really needs to be part of your weekly routine.

What does One Good Adult mean?

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Launched in 2019, Jigsaw and UCD’s My World Survey 2 asked young people if there was a special adult in their lives. This was an adult they could turn to when they were in need.

76% of young people had at least one adult they could talk to when they needed support. Having this person in their lives was linked to better overall mental health.

What difference does One Good Adult make?

Young people who reported having one good adult tended to have:

  • Increased self-esteem
  • More success in school life
  • Better mental health
  • More likely to seek help
  • Less risk taking behaviours.

Not having One Good Adult was linked to higher levels of distress, anti-social behaviour and increased risk for suicidal behaviour. One Good Adults are crucial to helping young people do well and to flourish.

Ask Jigsaw: My daughter suffers from anxiety

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My daughter suffers from anxiety, it often stops her from leaving the house and doing activities. She can become severely panicked and stressed if she has to start something new, or just visit a friends house. She loses sleep the night before, cries, hyperventilates and becomes extremely agitated.

For example, she asked to do a summer camp and she looked forward to it for weeks beforehand right up until the night before. Then the panic sat in, she focuses on the worst possibilities of what could happen. This then brings on a panic attack, sometimes we can calm her back down and she manages to go through with the activities but sometimes it overwhelming for her. She panicked so much for the summer camp that she ended up not going as she was too distressed.

I am very worried as she approaches her teenage years that this might only get worse. Do you think that she would benefit from talking to someone such as a counsellor to help with some coping mechanisms? Or what should we do for this?

-Zay

Hi Zay,

It can be really distressing when we see young people experiencing anxiety. Our natural instinct is often to protect them from experiencing it as much as possible. You are right to look at how to address your daughter’s anxiety now to try and prevent it from escalating.

Acessing Jigsaw services for my young person

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A parent or guardian of a young person aged between 12 to 25 can access a Jigsaw service through a number of ways.

You can access a Jigsaw service by calling or emailing your local Jigsaw service yourself. If your young person is under 18, Jigsaw requires your consent. If they are over 18 years-old they do not need consent.

Check here for contact details for each of the different Jigsaw services.

Ask Jigsaw: Loss of confidence

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I’ve always been an anxious person but over the past year I have noticed myself it has gotten worse due to certain experiences. I never had a lot of confidence in myself and this is showing a lot more now and family and friends have said it to me which makes me break down each time.

Over the past few number of months my confidence has declined hugely both as a person but also confidence with my body image as comments have been passed. The constant thoughts of ‘I’m worthless and useless’ run through my mind nearly everyday when I look at myself.

Since I was younger I always put on a brave face and always had a smile on my face just to meet the expectations and perceptions that people had of me, but I’ve come to a point now where I cannot physical do it anymore, it was all to please other people!

Overthinking is another thing my mind is constantly going at 100 miles an hour. I always wanted to make an appointment and to speak about this in person but every time I do talk about or even think about it I completely break down. I just want to try and fix this because it has affected relationships and aspects of life hugely as I am isolating myself from the people I love but unfortunately I just don’t know how so, it would be great if you could give me some advice and ways I could overcome this!
Thank you!

-Flower 21

It sounds like there’s been a lot going on under the surface and it’s become too much to keep in anymore. While it can be hard to hear from other people that they’ve noticed you don’t seem as confident, they must really care about you and want to see you feel more comfortable in yourself.